KINGSTON, Jamaica — A mouth-watering showdown is expected today when defending champions Upsetters take on Jamalco in the final of the Supreme Ventures Major League competition at the Leila Robinson Courts in Kingston.

Match time is 6:00 pm.

The match is expected to provide fireworks throughout and is a repeat of last year’s final where Upsetters came out on top over their opponents. Upsetters also recorded a victory over Jamalco in the preliminary round of the competition earlier this season.

Upsetters, who are unbeaten in the competition for the last two years, secured their place in the final after a competitive 45-39 victory over Tivoli Gardens in Thursday’s semifinal. Nardia Hanson, head coach of  Upsetters, noted that despite being the strong favourites to retain their title, Jamalco is a very formidable opponent, adding that her team is expecting a very exciting contest.

“We are looking forward to a very competitive game because no game repeats itself. Jamalco has some new young players coming through their team and they are really playing well at the moment,” said Hanson, who is a former national player.

“I know that when it is a final, players really turn up more for a final than a preliminary round match. So, beating them before cannot dictate that we are going to take the title on Sunday, but that is our aim,” she said.

The Upsetters team will be led by their national senior players Adean Thomas and Amanda Pickney along with former national representatives Paula Thompson, Kasey Evering, Sabrina Spence, and Shanieka Johnson.

Hanson highlighted that her players are very upbeat going into this final, and once they maintain their composure and limit their turnovers throughout the match, they should retain their title.

“We are confident, but we are not going to be overly confident because we know that we are going to be playing against a very good team and they have a lot of experience in their ranks. So, we are just going out there to give it our all on Sunday,” she said.

Jamalco, who is coached by the veteran Winston Nevers, booked their place in today’s final with a nail-biting 49-48 win over the Rockers in their semifinal on Thursday.

“This Upsetters team is a very good team and a well-balanced team with a lot of depth, and so we have to shoot and we have to defend for the entire match,” said Nevers. “They beat us in the final last year and they also defeated us in the preliminary round this year, and so they have two victories over the Jamalco team now. So yes, they are the favourites, but we are going to go there with a different game plan because we are going there to win this final,” he said.

Nevers said his players are very determined to end their two-match losing streak to their opponents today.

“My players definitely want the title this year because I personally plan how I am going to play them this year as I am going to play them a little bit differently, and I don’t think that they are going to be prepared for this in the final,” he said.

The Jamalco team will be depending heavily on the likes of former national players Marsh Murphy-Dawkins, Naudia Brown, Vangelee Williams, Vanessa Walker, and Kerry-Ann Brown.

Meanwhile, in the Intermediate B final, Global B will oppose Ochi Rios Magics at 4:00 pm; Speg A will battle Molynes A in the Intermediate A final at 4:00 pm; and in the minor league final, Maxifield B will face-off against Queens B.