Cougars down champs in Jemmott's return - Mar 8, 2010 (by Justin Marville)
THE PRODIGAL SON is back home.
And don't Nicholls Bakery Limited Cougars know it.
Last season's Premier League basketball's cellar dwellers celebrated the return of Ricardo Jemmott by upsetting defending double-crowned champs Mpact Station Hill Cavaliers 72-68 on Thursday night as the President's Invitational Tournament got under at the YMCA [read more]
THE PRODIGAL SON is back home.
And don't Nicholls Bakery Limited Cougars know it.
Last season's Premier League basketball's cellar dwellers celebrated the return of Ricardo Jemmott by upsetting defending double-crowned champs Mpact Station Hill Cavaliers 72-68 on Thursday night as the President's Invitational Tournament got under at the YMCA.
Sans veteran frontcourt players Andrew Alleyne and Kelvin Patterson, the champion Cavs used the pre-season opener as an opportunity to run younger players ahead of this month's Premier League season.
But it was the Hothersal side that got greater production from its reserves, with rookie swingman Godfrey Leacock scoring a game high 14 points.
Antonio Yearwood also had 14 while Jemmott chipped in 11 and Shawn Gaskin added ten points. Station Hill national guard/forward Jason Smith top-scored with 13 points, getting a further ten points each from Kevin Sealy and Ricardo Yearwood.
In the night's second game, Kareem Farrell's buzzer-beating bank shot proved to be the difference as Playfair Warriors barely edged 71-69 DC United 71-69. Both he and former MVP Corey McDonald had a team high 14 points while Tremaine Shaw and Terrance Roach added ten points apiece. Selwyn Brooks scored a game high 23 points to lead DC United.
Lakers, Bulls among Premier no-shows - Mar 8, 2010 (by Justin Marville)
PREMIER LEAGUE BASKETBALLS Presidents Invitational Tournament wont be so premier after all.
Fans wanting an early glimpse of multi-league champs Lumber Company Lakers and Act II Popcorn Clapham Bulls will have to do so at their respective practice venues after the two perennial title contenders opted against taking the court for this weeks pre-season tourney [read more]
PREMIER LEAGUE BASKETBALLS Presidents Invitational Tournament wont be so premier after all.
Fans wanting an early glimpse of multi-league champs Lumber Company Lakers and Act II Popcorn Clapham Bulls will have to do so at their respective practice venues after the two perennial title contenders opted against taking the court for this weeks pre-season tourney.
The notable absences were revealed a couple weeks ago as the Barbados Amateur Basketball Association (BABA) was forced to find cover in the Intermediate Division for the 12-team competition, slated to start tomorrow at the YMCA.
The timing just doesnt suit us, said Lakers head coach Francis Williams of his clubs decision to forgo the tournament.
We are not prepared and scrimmaging isnt going to help us right now.
Former two-time semi-finalists Roll-A-Way Storm & Security Shutters St John Sonics have also declined the executives invitation, compelling the governing body to fill the three open slots with Intermediate contenders Market Hill Ballers, Challengers and Mayhill.
Right now we want to take this time to work on the things that were not happy with, explained new Sonics head coach Terry Inniss.
If we knew earlier we would have geared our practice towards participating in the tournament.
The BABA finalised the pre-season tournament two weeks ago ahead of the official March 20 start of the domestic season, extending invitations to the 12 Premier League clubs.
But the short notice of the scheduled opening and the start of the pre-season tournament hasnt appeared to come across well with at least two of those teams.
Its the second week into our practice and we are not prepared to give up those sessions to play these games, expressed Williams.
Between them, Lakers and Bulls have accounted for three of the last four Premier League titles, while Sonics made two successive playoff appearances within their first two seasons of top flight basketball.
And their combined absence now leaves the BABA without four of their top players, most notably former MVP and the leagues leading scorer Jeremy Gill (Clapham), for a pre-season tournament which would be best served attracting new followers to a dying fan base.
The twelve teams have been seeded and split into three groups of four, with reigning double crowned champs Mpact Station Hill Cavaliers leading Zone A with fellow Premier League sides Patriots and Cougars
That initial phase is scheduled to be played in a round robin format, with the four group winners competing in the semi-finals before moving on to the final, which is to conclude the opening ceremony at the Wildey Gymnasium.
Barbados bids for Under-16 tourney - Jan 4, 2010 (by Justin Marville)
A DECADE after last hosting a regional basketball tournament, Barbados have decided to throw their hat back in the ring.
Only this time, it will be at the junior level.
President of the Barbados Amateur Basketball Association (BABA) Carlos Moore announced his executives bid to hold this summers Caribbean Basketball Championships (CBC) under-16 tournament as Barbados look to improve their standing in junior basketball [read more]
A DECADE after last hosting a regional basketball tournament, Barbados have decided to throw their hat back in the ring.
Only this time, it will be at the junior level.
President of the Barbados Amateur Basketball Association (BABA) Carlos Moore announced his executives bid to hold this summers Caribbean Basketball Championships (CBC) under-16 tournament as Barbados look to improve their standing in junior basketball.
We havent made a serious commitment as yet but this is a good opportunity to draw attention to Barbados as a basketball haven, reasoned the first-year chief.
Were also taking this chance for Barbados to host a regional tournament with hopes that we can develop this into bigger things like tennis did with Serena Williams and Ms [Caroline] Wozniacki.
Barbados last staged a regional tournament back in 2000 coincidentally the last time Barbados won at this level where both the men and women took away their respective CBC titles at the Wildey Gymnasium.
If we can use that as any type of gauge, then it seems if Barbados gets this tournament we can look forward to some huge success, laughed Moore.
However, the BABA executive faces a far greater cost than the $600,000 bill that faced Moores predecessors in staging that highly-successful 2000 championships.
The biggest obstacle for us right now is finances as the initial estimate we are hearing is somewhere in the region of two million dollars, Moore stated.
I know these are tough economic times but we hope that through what we are trying to achieve with youth in sport that we can get some sort of support from Government and the private sector.
The announcement comes directly on the heels of the BABAs decision last month to implement a long-awaited, weekly mini-basketball programme for kids under the age 14.
Barbados havent attended a junior basketball tournament since their disappointing seventh-place finish at the 2005 under-18 CBC mens competition in Trinidad, having missed out on the last under-17 tournament two seasons ago in Antigua.
It is hard for us to gauge where we are considering we havent seen the rest of the region at this level for some time now, noted Moore.
However, we are very confident in the ability of our two junior coaches. Theyre very enthusiastic about their job and we know theyve got to do quite a bit of recruiting.
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