The Jammers took the initiative in the opening quarter before the local side produced a superb effort to take the lead at the end of the first half 40-36.

With the match evenly poised, Lugard Mohan began engineering the offence of his President's XII, and with new arrival Desmond Herod from Seton Hall University in the NCAAA championships beginning to settle in, the challenge of the home side looked potent indeed.

Martin who had gotten his way in the first half, was not getting that many easy baskets as Marlon Penniston pressed him in the paint and Boyd had overworked himself in his roving game.

The President's XII secured a ten-point advantage at 50-40 and established their biggest lead of the game 61-46 with less than five minutes to go.

Herod was doing the tangible things that make someone a successful player at the highest level; he was getting the assists then working his way inside for the lay-up to get his game going. Mohan was his equal getting in big shots and back-to-back 3-pointers were enough to give hope that victory was insight for the locals.

But as time passed, the President's XII were outscored 13-0 with some unforced errors and uncontested baskets that helped the visitors to sneak back into the game and take a winning position.

Jammers first took the lead at 62-61 and when Herod knocked down one from beyond the arc it brought the President's XII within one 68-69.

As the clock was winding down, frustration was evident as Boyd and Martin got back into the fray with some marvellous play and Pierre Goddette took opportunities to nail the final set of points to silence the partisan crowd rooting for a locals’ win.

In the final minute, the real cracking up of the challenge by the President's XII team was seen and they lost by nine points.

While Martin registered 28 points, Boyd was the man of business with 22 points, 16 rebounds and five steals as Goddette added 20.

For the President's XII, Mohan finished with 29 points after scoring 15 in the first half as Herod quickly made an impact with 17 points, six assists and four steals. Andrew Ifill netted 15 points.

Earlier in the evening, Boyd won the slam dunk competition and Bruce Davis out-shot his rivals to win the 3-point shoot-out, competitions sponsored by Empire Trust Enterprise Incorporated and organised by the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation, aimed at preparing the teams for the Caricom Basketball Championships.