Dubai: Pre-tournament favourites Team Joe The Barber (JTB) took sweet revenge for their loss in the preliminary round to secure a 61-51 win over Team Wrecking Crew (WRC) in the final of the 3SM Summer Basketball League.
The final, played at the Dubai Sports World indoor venue last week, was a re-match of a previously heated contest between WRC and JTB — and this time around JTB were in no mood to give in as they played to a plan.
Coming in with a perfect league record of five wins, WRC sorely missed their inspirational captain Saeed Al Naji. But they managed to keep the deficit to a minimum behind the three-point shooting of star player Nicolas Trabucco.
JTB used their superior athleticism to stay ahead in the first half, with a big game from Rey Odiahambo, who top-scored with 16 points.
However, WRC made sure the final remained a tight encounter as they closed out the third quarter with two consecutive three-pointers from Ali Al Shammary to tie up the game at 44-44.
Then, in the final quarter, JTB captain Chad Chambers took it upon himself to finish off the contest by outscoring the entire WRC team in the final period 9-7, including a three pointer in the final minute that sealed the victory.