Anthony Minott, Gleaner Writer

Runnin' Rebels' Marlon Stephenson (left) dribbles out of a double team created by Catherine Hall All-Stars' Neville Christie (centre) and his teammate during the KFC National Basketball League match at the Edgewater Community Centre on Saturday. The Rebels won 85-60. - Anthony Minott/Freelance Photographer

Runnin' Rebels warmed up for the KFC National Basketball League (NBL) play-offs which begin next Sunday, with a 85-60 blowout of relegated Catherine Hall All-Stars at the Edgewater Community Centre Court on Saturday.

"It was an okay game, our players played to my expectations and we won the game," remarked Pete Matthews, coach of the Runnin' Rebels after their easy win.

The Rebels' Greg Warlock had a game-high 24 points, while Lynford Brown and Paron Brown supported well with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Paron Brown also grabbed 15 rebounds.

Gayon Malcolm led Catherine Hall with 23 points, while Neville Christie added 15 and Dave Black scored 11.

Montegonians down by 10 points

The Montegonians were down by 10 points (40-30) at half-time, but were not able to stay competitive with only seven players suited up for the game. Player/coach Radcliffe Rhynie was the only substitute on the bench and his team folded quietly as they scored another 30 points in the second half to the Rebels' 45.

"We didn't have enough substitutes, so our players suffered from fatigue in the second half. They (Rebels) just pulled away from us in the third quarter," Rhynie said.

He added: "We are now relegated, we just have to regroup and win the western league again and come back the following year, bigger and stronger and with more experience."

Catherine Hall won only three games in their debut year and their final match of the season against play-off bound Majesty Gardens on Saturday at the above venue will only be of academic interest.

The other debut team, Port Royal Bulls, finished with the second-best record in the preliminaries.

The Rebels, who ended the preliminaries with an 11-11 record as the seventh seed, will turn their attention to a hot quarter-final best-of-three play-off series with the Bulls.

In an early tip-off encounter on Saturday, the Jamaica Amateur Basketball Association (JABA) development team, made up of teenagers, defeated Lady Panthers 56-43 in JABA's Invitational Women's League. Tiffany Sparks and Asha-Lee Fitzgerald both scored 14 points for the JABA team and point guard Shasta-Lee Smith scored 13. Pathers' Letesha Levi had game-high 18 points, while the frisky Tania Edwards contributed 12 points.