Even the unexpected appearance of AC Augustine in the Orange Walk Eagles’ line-up on Saturday night could not stop them from being swept out of the playoffs by the recently recharged San Pedro Tigersharks. Ironically, in a strange twist of events, the game time decision by Eagles’ management to insert Augustine into their line-up may have hurt them more than aid them; for, while he (Augustine) may have put up decent numbers offensively (18 pts 15 rebs) in the game, his end of season sudden return in a critical do or die situation affected team chemistry tremendously, resulting in the team committing a whapping 37 turnovers, while shooting a woeful 26% from the field. In addition, it also had an adverse effect on the play of other key players such as Sheldon Williams, Dale Turner, Leith Paulino and Roscoe Rhys, who had, during the course of the season, made a name for themselves by performing adequately. On Saturday night, the quartet could only muster a mere 19 pts collectively, a sharp decline when compared to game one of the series, when they combined for 45 pts among the four of them.
In any event, the Tigersharks are now riding a four-game winning streak, following the 84-75 win. They were led by Jamaican Damion Staples, who had 24 pts, and who is now leading the playoffs in scoring at a 24.5 ppg clip. He was assisted by Greg Rudon 20 pts and Doug Pendland 13 pts. Meanwhile, for the Eagles, Lester Cadle had 34 pts, followed by AC Augustine 18 pts.