Late push helps Mayas grab game one over Ravia, 118-107...

With a late push, Mayas takes game one, 118-107...

Bobby Brown

by David Archer - Jun 8, 2007   Bobby Brown downs 28 and Dorsey takes control, scoring 14 of Mayas' final 17 points… Lilburn, Georgia - While many were watching a defensive, rather boring NBA game Thursday evening, game one of the WBA Championship Series was an exciting old fashioned 'barn-burner' inside Berkmar High School. Mayas led for all but th #s# #e#6 Ingle Monds Cox Dorsey Saunders Bobby Brown downs 28 and Dorsey takes control, scoring 14 of Mayas' final 17 points… Lilburn, Georgia - While many were watching a defensive, rather boring NBA game Thursday evening, game one of the WBA Championship Series was an exciting old fashioned 'barn-burner' inside Berkmar High School. Mayas led for all but the opening three minutes, but Ravia battled back from 10-12 down on three occasions to put themselves in contention to win the opening game of the best-of-three title series. MaJic Dorsey (6'1''-G-81), slowed by a tweeked hamstring most of the night, woke up late, dazzling the crowd while scoring 14 in the final 5:21 of the game. Rodney Kirtz's jumper gave Ravia an early 4-2 lead a minute and a half in, but Bobby Brown (6'6''-F-79, college: Kennesaw St.) led a 10-2 Mayas run, to take a 12-4 advantage at the 7:26 mark of the opening period. Brown tallied six in the run. Mayas would build a nine-point cushion in the first quarter, before Ravia, as it did all night long, would fight back to cut it to one, at 28-27 on a 3pt bomb by Robert Cox (6'5''-G/F-83). In the Rebel return, Golden Ingle (5'11''-G-81) would spurt for nine points. Edmund Saunders (6'8''-F/C-78) got a put-back with three seconds left to end the quarter, giving Mayas a 30-37 lead after one stanza. Brown finished with 10 in the quarter for Mayas. In the second, Mayas quickly pushed out to a 36-29 spread, as their size began to take effect, with Reo Logan, Jeff Daisley and Saunders each getting touches and buckets in the paint on successive trips to open the period. Mayas later went up by 12, after DeShawn Anderson rebounded a David Monds (6'8''-F-83) miss, dribbled the length of the floor and converted the transition basket. Ravia trailed 45-33 with 7:13 left in the half. The teams would trade baskets over the next few minutes, as Dorsey got two short jumpers, followed by another lay-in by Anderson. Monds and Cox countered with deuces, and Joe Hamilton got dropped a shot, but Mayas still led by a dozen with 4:35 showing in the 2nd quarter. The Rebels stepped up their defense, forcing misses by Dorsey and Derrick Stevens. Ravia's defensive stance would spark another march back, as Cox and Ingle both answered with threes to pace a 12-4 stretch to close the half. Brown managed a runner and Saunders got two free throws for Mayas, but Ravia's aggressiveness award them with several trips to the line as well. Brock and Gustavo Atanacio both contributed freethrows in the final two minutes of the half, to help Ravia go into the break only down 55-51. Brown opened the quarter with a lay-in, to put Mayas up six. Ravia would cut it to 60-59 after Monds rebounded his own miss and converted. Mayas began to open up, as Saunders grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, followed up by two straight transition baskets by Anderson off of Ravia turnovers. Chris Jackson got a lay-in for Ravia, but Dorsey answered with a trey putting Mayas up 77-68 with 5:30 left in the 3rd. Hamilton would muster a dunk for Ravia, but Mayas front court again reared its ugly head with Brown, Sanders and Logan all dropping caromes inside. Ravia again found themselves down by a dirty dozen at 85-73. Never to die, the Rebels would force consecutive turnovers, then a defensive stance, then execute an 8-0 run over the next 60 seconds. Monds got the run started with a shot in the middle, Jackson cut in the lane and made a nifty lay-in, then Hamilton got a double-clutch slam, and Ingle got fouled and made two freethrows. Ravia trimmed the score to 85-81, before Brown finally stopped the Mayas bleeding with a bank shot in the lane to end the quarter. Taking a very uncomfortable 87-81 lead into the final period, Mayas looked to be losing steam. Ravia had appeared to collapse towards the end of the 3rd quarter, but somehow fought back yet again to make it interesting. Ravia would not go away in fourth either, Cox opened with a bucket. Brown made another two for Mayas, but Hamilton cut it back to four, at 89-85, after making a turnaround bank shot from the right side. Two minutes into the 4th, Ingle converted two shots at the line to trim Mayas' lead to 91-89. But, Mayas would outscore Ravia 8-2 over the next three minutes, off of six combined points from Brown and Saunders. Mayas led 99-91 with 8:02 remaining. Ravia seemed to be buckling. But quickly, Doug Underwood nailed a three and a Daisley miss, Jackson converted to bring it back to 99-96. Kirtz capped a 9-2 comeback run by Ravia to cut it to 101-100 with 6:05 left on the clock. At this point, somebody must have knocked Dorsey on the head, because he proceeded to score six straight, to just begin his "take-over" tactics. He nailed a short jumper in the lane, off a huge screen by Saunders, then a lay-in after a Kirtz turnover, followed by a runner in the lane, to push Mayas back up by seven at 4:05. He wasn't done. After trading freethrows, Dorsey drove the right side of the lane and lofted a high runner, while getting fouled. The ball slipped through the nets. He made the foul shot, giving Mayas another double-digit lead. Followed by a Jackson miss and make at the charity stripe, Anderson grabbed the offensive board and connected, putting Mayas up 113-102. But, Cox answered with a tri-fecta for the Rebels. Then after two misses by Logan at the line, Monds' muscled up for a two, bringing Ravia back to within 113-107 with 1:31 left. Ravia was still not going down with out a fight. On the ensuing possession, Dorsey would again drive the lane and while drawing the foul, softly drop the runner. The shot put Mayas up by seven with only :55 ticks showing. This may have been the dagger in Ravia's sides, as turned the ball back over immediately. Dorsey would twist the dagger by sinking the transition basket off the turnover, while again being fouled on the play. He was good on the foul shot attempt with :40 seconds remaining, capping off a remarkable stretch of 14 points over the final 5:21 of the game. Cox led Ravia with 18 points on the evening, followed by Monds and Ingle with 16 each. Kirtz got 14 points and eight rebounds, while Hamilton and Jackson both tallied 12 off the bench. Hamilton also had eight rebounds and three blocks. Brock was held to only eight on the night. Monds also grabbed eight rebounds and Ingle led Ravia with five assists. Ronald Chinchilla and Atanacio rounded out the scoring with two and one, respectively For Mayas-USA, Brown paced all scorers with 28 points and also had eight rebounds and two steals. Dorsey finished with 27 points, nine assists, and three steals, while Saunders pounded in 21 points and ruled the glass with 13 rebounds. Logan scored 12 and DeShawn Anderson had 11 points on 5 of 5 shooting from the floor. Zach Anderson and Kareem Grant each posted six and Daisley and Hartley scored 4 and 3, respectively. With Mayas leading the best-of-three series 1-0, game two is set to tip off at 7:30pm tonight at Berkmar High School at 405 Pleasant Hill Rd Lilburn, Georgia. Game three, if necessary, will be Sunday at 4:30pm.

Ravia will host Mayas in Best of Three WBA Championship Series...

 Mayas & Ravia to battle for WBA Title…

 

Minor league basketball through out the country has been in a quagmire the past year. The World Basketball Association (WBA) has suffered through its share of many of the same difficulties this season. Despite enduring great trials this spring, along with having to shorten the regular season, the WBA will move ahead with plans to crown a 2007 Champion.

After being named to their respective Conference Titles, Mayas USA and the Gwinnett Ravia Rebels will battle it out in a best of three Championship Series for the WBA Crown. Mayas will represent the Western Conference, while Ravia is the Eastern Conference Champions.

 

 

 

Mayas-USA captured the Western Conference Title, finishing the shortened season with a 10-1 overall record. Led by Head Coach Lionel Garrett, who was recently named the 2007 WBA Coach of the Year, Mayas has a talented core of WBA veterans, including two-time WBA MVP MaJic Dorsey, Edmund Saunders, and Bobby Brown. Garrett, Dorsey and Saunders teamed to bring the Rome Gladiators its first WBA Crown in 2005. Saunders, who owns a NCAA Title ring from his days at Uconn, was also a member of Rome's 2006 WBA Title. Brown, who was awarded his third consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award, been a WBA All-league selection the past three years. Garrett, who played for the Harlem Globetrotters after being drafted to the NBA in 1979, was recently named to the Southern University Sports Hall of Fame. Mayas also boasts the proverbial "Noah's Arc" of roster support, with two viable big men in Reo Logan and Jeff Daisley, two athletic wings in Brandon Hartley and Kareem Grant, and long range shooters in Brandon Heredia and Edgar Soto. The ownership group of the Flota family, with Carlos serving as the principal field marshal, has provided the Mayas USA club with a supreme level of stability that permeates the recipe for success. Upon completion of the WBA Championship Series, Mayas will return to Mexico for preparations for the upcoming LNBP season.

 

 

 

The Gwinnett Ravia-Rebels, have been the surprise of the WBA season. Joining the WBA, just days before opening night, Ravia has been immediately a competitive force. Under the ownership of Mary Martinez and Jesse Torres, the Rebels quickly put together an exciting, high-octane team that could put points on the board, while also playing hard-nosed basketball. The Rebels finished the abbreviated WBA season with a 6-4 overall record, with all four losses coming by narrow margins, including two of those by virtue of overtime. Two of their close losses also were against Mayas-USA. WBA Rookie of the Year and first team All-League selection, Evan Brock has led the way for the Rebels, while introducing his fresh 'inside-outside' style of play to the league. Joe Hamilton's high-flying act has perfectly complimented the outside shooting triage of Rodney Kirtz, Wayne Arnold and rookie PG Golden Ingle. Chris Jackson and David Monds, who joined the team a few games in, has also infused the ability for the team to have multiple post up options. Jackson, from a guard position, can muscle smaller defenders with his strong physique and shoot from the perimeter, and Monds has given Ravia another option in the post with his ability to maneuver around the paint. Utility player, Robert Cox has provided a great mix of defense, athleticism and scoring ability for Ravia, while Adrien Borders has also been very solid at the guard position both offensively and defensively. Cox and Borders were both named to the WBA All-defensive team for this season.

 

Mayas-USA took the two regular season games from Ravia but not in easy fashion. Back on May 18, Mayas had to battle back from a 26-point deficit to narrowly defeat the Rebels 118-115 at Berkmar. Dorsey downed 25 fourth quarter points and Bobby Brown had 18 in the second half, to help kick-start their team into a stirring comeback win. A week later in Longview, Ravia put Mayas to the test again, with Mayas pulling out a 118-111 victory. In their only other meeting, Ravia actually defeated Mayas in a friendly match, so the Rebels know what it takes to compete.

 

So, the stage is set for an interesting conclusion to what has been a trying season for the WBA community. Never in the WBA's four-year existence has the league opted for a series type of format for the Finals. Clearly, the two most deserving teams are pitted against one another for the rights to claim what will surely be considered a "bitter-sweet"end. Regardless of the hardships, you can bet the level of play which will be displayed this week will not be diluted in any shape, form or fashion. The players for both teams will be going as hard as they can. Mayas-USA will add to the excitement and opportunity for exposure by having the Series televised for viewing all across the Yucatan and Mexico. Players will also have the ability to be exposed to LNBP teams through out Mexico, which is the league that Mayas is also a member of during the traditional winter basketball season.

 

The series will begin on Thursday night with the two evenly matched teams tipping off at 7:30pm. The Title series will continue on Friday at 7:30pm, followed by game three on Sunday beginning at 4:30pm (if necessary). The series will be held at Berkmar High School 405 Pleasant Hill Rd. in Lilburn (GA).