Edward 'Ted' Marshall, coach of the National Basketball League (NBL)/ Flow Southern Conference cham-pions Tivoli Gardens Wizards, said teamwork and dedication were the key to his team's success this season.

The Wizards defeated Majesty Gardens 67-62 in the final game of their best-of-three series on Thursday night at the National Stadium Courts for a 2-1 come-from-behind series win.

"I think that discipline and teamwork were the major factors that contributed to our success so far this season," said Marshall.

Very focused

"We were very focused and determined to win, because after we lost the opening game to them, we went back to the drawing board and we worked on our mistakes and it has paid off for us," added Marshall.

The Wizards trailed Majesty 31-33 at half-time and 47-50 at the end of the third quarter.

However, led by their top scorers Andre Whilby and Anthony Farquharson, the west Kingston-based Wizards dominated the fourth period as both players sank two jumpers and two-three pointers to push their team into an eight-point advantage at 59-51, with four minutes remaining.

Majesty failed to respond at the other end and made several turnovers that resulted in the Wizards coasting home to a comfortable win, much the delight of their cheering spectators.

Farquharson and Whilby ended with 16 and 12 points, respectively. They received major support from Delano Mallett (13 points) and Kirk Ferguson (12 points, eight rebounds).

Good performance

Majesty's captain Baldon Todd nailed 23 points and eight rebounds, while Havando Dunn sunk 10 points.

Marland Nattie, the coach of Majesty Gardens, said his team tried its best.

"I am proud of my guys because they came out and for most parts of the game they played well," said Nattie, who is a former president of the Jamaica Basketball Association.

"I think that we fell down in the latter stages of the game because we failed to execute on the offensive end, and that cost us the game," Nattie added.

Meanwhile, the national play-offs will begin today with a double-header at the National Stadium Courts. In the opening match Majesty Gardens will oppose St George's Slayers at 6:15 p.m., while the Wizards will battle Jamaica Defence Force at 8 p.m.