LeVaughn Flynn, Staff Reporter

West Kingston teams Tivoli All-Stars and Denham Town Wizards square-off this evening at 7:45 in the feature game of a double-header at the National Stadium Courts in the KFC National Basketball League.

Urban Knights and Link-Up All Stars will play in the curtain-raiser at 6:00 p.m.

Tivoli, after losing their opening game to debutantes Majesty Gardens, then rallying to beat Portmore Flames, will face a familiar foe in Denham Town, neighbours and training partners.

Both teams often share players from one season to the next, always setting up an interesting battle when the teams meet.

"We play against Wizards daily. We know what to do against them and we know who to rough up so that they cant perform," said Tivoli assistant coach Derrick Sinclair.

He hinted that Tivoli, which won consecutive titles between 2000-2003, would be focusing on closing down Wizards top shooter Anthony Farquharson, who scored 32 points against Rebels on Monday.

"Once we cut down the main source of points, then we can outscore them," said Sinclair, referring to Farquharson.

While Farquharson has built a reputation as the Wizards' most dangerous scorer, opponents would be foolhardy to ignore Jermaine Bailey and Dwayne Harris. Bailey is a smooth shooter with three-point range and Harris is an explosive leaper who is also capable of hitting the outside shot.

"We can deal with the other players," added Sinclair. "Like I said, we know how to play them."

Trophy battle

Despite the unexpected loss to Majesty Gardens in their first game, Tivoli will most likely be one of the four teams battling for the trophy as the season winds down.

They have seasoned campaigners such as Orane Hart and Paul Oliphant who have played Wizards dozens of times.

Understandably, Wizards coach Wayne Bartley has the same outlook as his counterpart.

"We know their style and they know ours, so it's basically trying to outsmart them," said Bartley.

THIRD STRAIGHT

Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, Urban Knights won their third straight game with a 66-64 triumph over Arnett Gardens. Linton Murray led Knights with 15 points and added seven rebounds and four steals. Javon Bailey contributed 14 points and Jomo Heron scored 13. Arnett Gardens were led by Vivian Spence, Arnel Campbell and Delano Mallet who all scored 12 points each.

Portmore Flames were also winners on Tuesday, getting by Majesty Gardens 88-84. Flames' victory was ignited by a 37 point-performance from sharpshooter Adrian Coote. Kenardo Smith chipped in with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Majesty Gardens had Baldon Todd, Barrington Berry and Kemar McLeish scoring 25, 18 and 16 points respectively.