Jammers first took a 8-1 lead but Andrew Ifill of the President's XII gave an ear1y five before the Washington side's Derrick Boyd turned on his magical display inside in reply.

Just after, Ifill hit one from down town and the locals were down by two. Ifill then made a three-point play and drilled one on the buzzer as the first quarter scores swung in the President's favour 21-18.

The second quarter was a ding-dong affair with both sides looking to execute on the open floor and it ended with the game all tied up at 39.

Then a furious third quarter ensued, ending with Steve Neils (Jnr) burying back-to-back three-pointers and team-mate Darcel Harris adding another that pulled the locals out of trouble.

But the response by the Jammers was adequate enough to ensure that the local selection did not take control and this session ended 57-all.

In the fourth quarter, the lead changed hands on a regular basis but the efforts of forward Ifill was significant as he, time and again, shot the jumpers that always kept the President's hopes alive. However, with a final burst, the Jammers held on to an exciting two points win.

Ifill finished on 25 points after netting 15 in the first half, with Neils hitting 13 for the President's XII. For the Jammers, Shawn Powell netted 17, Boyd 16, Reggie king 11 and Dexter Martin 10.

Game Two is on tonight from 21:00 hrs and this will be preceded by the slam-dunk and three-point shooting contest involving the players from the President's XII and DC Jammers.

Meanwhile, Seton Hall Division One College player, Desmond Herrod, arrived yesterday while centre Darren Ainsworth was expected in last night to beef up the two teams, while vying for final selection on Guyana's men's team for this year's Caricom Basketball championships in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Herrod, the 6ft-4in top-ranked guard will don uniform for the President's selection that will include former Caricom All Star player guard Lugard Mohan, centres Terrence James and Alwyn Wilson all who did not play in Game One.

Jammers will throw in the 6ft-6in Ainsworth at centre to add size to the huge frontcourt with Boyd and Martin, as the visitors aim to take an unbeatable two-nil lead in the series.

The local girls are also in training and overseas-based player, Shondelle Brown, is expected sometime today to be part of the selection process. Guyana's best performance in women's basketball has been their winning of the championship in 1996 in Trinidad and Tobago.

In the slam-dunk championship, recently crowned top dunker Dwayne Garraway comes up against fellow local players Jermaine Warde and Rudy James, with challenges expected from the Jammers’ Boyd, Powell and Martin.

The 3-point shoot-out will have the local line-up of Neils, Bruce Davis and Clarence Bennett who was the best shoot-out at the Hair Locker Barber Shop-sponsored Slam Dunk and 3-Point Shoot-out competitions, run recently at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.