The only guarantee the hundreds of fans who will flock to this evening’s finals of the inaugural Village Camp Road Tennis Championship at the Bush Hall courts can count on is that the action will be sizzling hot.
With a predicted clash between two teams from Belfield, the All Whites and Belfield Lions, it is tough to determine who will walk away with the impressive trophy and $1 000 first prize.
The two teams are so evenly balanced with some of the island’s best that only a stand-out performance by some unexpected player will shift the power struggle which begins at 6 p.m.
A brilliant set up by chief organizer Tito Ellis and his teams will see captains versus captains, juniors battling and veterans doing likewise. The computer will determine the match-ups between the remaining eight players.
All White’s captain Mark “Venom’ Griffith has played unbeaten to face Sylvan “Lama” Barnett who shook off some indifferent play to show his true mettle with a stunner over the aggressive Antoine Daniel when it mattered in the semifinals. However, Griffith is in great touch and has the patience and the mental strength to ignore Barnett’s taunts and play which Daniel lacked.
Veteran Louis “Louis Dog” Daniel could give the Lions the edge as Adrian “Adee” Best, a barber by profession, looks susceptible to the kind of close shaves that Daniel has given to his other opponents.
Keon Murrell also has a slight juniors’ advantage over the exciting Darius “Baracus” Gaskin.
The draw done by the computer will create headaches or wide grins as those match-ups can make or break the hopes of the two combatants.
It is indisputable that the All White’s indomitable Julian “Michael Jackson” White’s only worthy challengers in the remaining four for the Lions is Curtis Jones and vice versa. Once those two are not drawn to play each other it will be a guaranteed win for both teams.
However, it is almost impossible to predict the outcome of any match-up among the remaining three players who are all capable of playing some high grade tennis or just as adept of collapsing under the pressure.
Suiting up for the Lions among that trio will be Chesterfield “Boy Boy” Brewster, Andrew “Cripple” Holder and Stig Merritt.
The All Whites’ fate will hang on the efforts of Michael Jean, Shabbir Greenidge and national table tennis player Aaron Barker.
