MANITOBA ALL FOURS ASSOCIATION

 Sunday March 07, 2010

 League Competition

After four Sundays of great all fours competition, we have a three way tie for top spot in the race for the 2010 MAA league championship. Both Aces and Saints fell by the wayside to leave Chutney, WISA and Masforce on top of the standings with identical records of 3 wins and 1 loss.

 MATCH 1: WISA vs Saints

After falling behind Saints by 7 games at the half, WISA rallied in the second half to defeat Saints by a score of 34-31. In the process, WISA became the first team for this season to win a match after trailing at halftime.

 Skipper Glen Manoosingh of WISA breathed a sigh of relief when it was over and said, “At first I thought we had the wrong matching up of pairs. Our chances of winning appeared very dismal. Then at one point, when we were only three games down in the latter stage of the second half, I felt the momentum swinging in our favor. I knew it was going to be a matter of time before we would snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Our guys never gave up. Overall it was a superb team effort. They (Saints) put up a great fight through out the whole match.”

 MATCH 2: ICCA vs. Masforce

Match 1 (above) was one of two closely contested and exciting matches for the day. The other match involved defending champion Masforce and ICCA. Masforce seemed to have a somewhat sizeable lead at half time with a score of 19-13. However, in the second half, ICCA put on quite a display to tie the game 30-30 at the end. In overtime, the pair of Sais Madansingh and Azie Mohammed won their game and the match for Masforce with a final score of 31-30.

Skip Sais Madansingh of Masforce was elated with the outcome. “This was definitely one of the best matches I have ever played,” said Sais, sipping a cold Carib beer. “We almost didn’t pull it off. You sometimes have to be lucky to be good and vice versa. We learned a valuable lesson from this one. Never take a team for granted, even if you are way ahead in your match. I know how the entire Saints team is feeling. We could have easily suffered the same fate too.”

 MATCH 3: Jook & Jam vs. Chutney

Jook & Jam put up a great fight in the first half of their match against Chutney. They trailed by five games (14-19). In the second half, however, it was all Chutney. They overpowered Jook & Jam to win by a score of 37-24.

 In spite of the convincing win, assistant skip, Chandra Narine of Chutney commented,” My husband and playing partner got my jacks hanged a couple times but overall his performance has improved tremendously from last week. I am happy with that.”

 MATCH 4: Genesis vs. Aces

A superior start led to a festive finish for the triumphant Genesis team in its critical match against Aces. Winning skipper Andy Dickson said, “All week we prepared ourselves for this match. It was a do or die situation for us. Another loss would put us out of the running for the league championship. We just had to win. The talent on our team really surfaced to the top this Sunday. I am happy for the guys.”

 Meanwhile, Carrington of Aces was heard muttering in the hallway, "We're still in the hunt which is a good thing. We only have two losses, so it's still in our control. I'm so disappointed that the game wasn't a better one for us. I must say Genesis played phenomenal.  It's back to the drawing board for us. We will make the necessary changes or adjustments for us to win the rest of our remaining games.”

Folks, the battle for top spot continues. We can expect another Sunday of intense card playing with loads of fun and excitement. Stay tuned!

Teams	Half Time Scores	Final Scores
Saints vs. WISA	Saints 19, WISA 12	WISA 34, Saints 31
Masforce vs. ICCA	Masforce 19, ICCA 13	Masforce 31, ICCA 30
Chutney vs. Jook & Jam	Chutney 19, Jook /Jam 14	Chutney 37, Jook / Jam 24
Genesis vs. Aces	Genesis 19, Aces10	Genesis 30, Aces 24

The following pairs made the chairperson’s honor roll for their outstanding performances last Sunday:-

A. Mohammed & A. Dickson  (Genesis)        8-2    (80.0%)

I. Harrysingh & R. Ramberran  (Saints)     12-5    (70.6%)

V. Goolcharan & J. Bissoon  (Chutney)       11-5    (68.8%)

I. Persad & K. Jaikaransingh  (WISA)        12-6    (66.7%)

V. Kissoon & S. Hosein  (Chutney)               12-6    (66.7%)

In the most bullseyes category, A. Sampson & E. Carrington is out in front with a total of 40, three ahead of their nearest rivals with 37.  The same pair leads in the most hang jacks category with 25. No other pair is remotely close.

 In the MVP standings, based on a minimum of at least three games played, the pair of V. Narine & C. Narine of Chutney continues to lead the way with a percentage of 63.04.  Second is A. Sampson & E. Carrington with a 59.42%.