For four consecutive years George Town Sports Club (GTSC) has secured the championship in the Cayman Islands Basketball Association Mens Division One League. Sunday night (6 July) at the Digicel Court proved no different.
Perhaps the only change was that the victory wasnt a walk in the park as the finals against Shaolin went the entire three games - and all in front of a standing-room-only crowd.
The first night GTSC defeated Shaolin 90-80, then lost the next game 132-126. But that second game will go down in CIBA history as one of the most hotly contested finals on record, as it went into triple overtime before Shaolin emerged victorious. And by games end GTSC had only four players on the court as three of their stars - Antonio Thompson (-G) Mike Morgan (-C) and Lloyd Samuels got into foul trouble
While the final game on Sunday played out in regulation time, it was no less competitive, and as National Technical Basketball Director Victor Voot OGarro told the players: Both teams can be proud of their performance tonight and throughout the series we have a record attendance and you both played excellent ball.
Shaolin began the scoring with two points by Jerome Narcisse, and Collin Anglin (186-G-78) followed up with a three-pointer, making it Shaolin 5, GTSC 0. GTSCs Antonio Thompson nailed his first three-pointer, taking the score to 5-3 Shaolin. Lloyd Samuels followed with two points for GTSC, tying the score at 5-5, and so it went. Shaolin scored; GTSC answered back. In fact, the quarter ended at 26-26.
The fans were cheering and jeering, depending on who they were there to see. One thing was sure: none of the fans were bored. One was overheard to say, I love this game.
GTSC opened the scoring in the second quarter with three-pointers from Samuels and Thompson. Shaolin remained stuck on 26, and the clock was at 4:23 before the team penetrated GTSCs defence. The first points came from Sebastian Sachse (204-C-81), and Anglin followed, bringing the score to 32-38.
But then GTSC seemed to go into overdrive to make some breathing room and managed to leap to a 10-point lead, 39-49.
A three-pointer from Shaolins main guy, Anglin, followed by a neat dip and tuck from Sachse, allowed Shaolin to cut the lead to five points, 50-45. GTSC had the last word going into halftime when Jonathan Mitchell went to the basket for a lay-up but missed. Samuels snagged the rebound and tipped the ball in.
The score was 52-49 with Shaolin trailing. Collin Bodden equalised in the opening of the third quarter, 52-52, and the fans went wild. But Shaolins moment was short-lived as Mitchell took GTSC ahead by hitting a three-pointer that was all net. Both teams dialled up their game, and the score seesawed back and forth with Luigi Moxam (191-G) tying it up for Shaolin 58-58. Samuels scored two lay-ups in quick succession, and his team managed to stave off Shaolins scorers with a high-pressure defence. The fourth quarter started at 71-65 with GTSC in the drivers seat.
While Shaolin obviously wanted the win, it was equally clear that GTSC wanted it more, and with their talent as well as athleticism Shaolin just was unable to mat
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John Gray High School falls short in the Bahamas - Feb 23, 2013
Bahamians thrash our boys
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Jamel Winton, ball, did his best to lead Cayman in Nassau. - PHOTO: MATTHEW YATES
Cayman basketball's latest bid for regional success did not go well.
John Gray High School's boys Under-19 team lost all three of its games in Nassau, Bahamas this month.
The U-19 team would suffer defeats at the hands of Charles Irvin Gibson Senior High School Rattlers, 74-13, in game one; private school St [read more]
Bahamians thrash our boys
Jamel Winton, ball, did his best to lead Cayman in Nassau. - PHOTO: MATTHEW YATES
Cayman basketball's latest bid for regional success did not go well.
John Gray High School's boys Under-19 team lost all three of its games in Nassau, Bahamas this month.
The U-19 team would suffer defeats at the hands of Charles Irvin Gibson Senior High School Rattlers, 74-13, in game one; private school St. Vincent Stingrays, 36-9, in game two; and Aquinas College, 45-34, in the finale.
Jamel Winton and Joshua Ebanks-Brown were the top performers for the Cayman Islands team during each of the three games. Other notable players included Rueben Barnes (game one), Alexander Thompson (game two) and Arin Taylor (game three).
In all, eight boys represented the Cayman Islands with the others being Daviel Foster, Douglas Henkis and Cameron Hydes. National men's coach Daniel Augustine helped train the squad with John Gray teacher Errol Grey serving as head coach.
John Gray competed in the exhibition games with the backing of the Cayman Islands Basketball Association.
Coach Grey aimed to find positives in the performance, saying the young men can go on to better results.
'It's about exposure and having them play at the international level,' Grey said. 'Winning will come at some time. They had three matches which will build a good team in the future that can represent Cayman at the international level.'
Director of Sports Collin Anglin states there are discussions ongoing between local government, the Cayman Islands Basketball Association and the National Collegiate Athletic Association on the possibility of staging a basketball tournament on Grand Cayman.
I dont want to divulge too much information as were waiting for things to happen, Anglin said. But there is something in the works and we hope to get absolute confirmation in the next three months [read more]
Director of Sports Collin Anglin states there are discussions ongoing between local government, the Cayman Islands Basketball Association and the National Collegiate Athletic Association on the possibility of staging a basketball tournament on Grand Cayman.
I dont want to divulge too much information as were waiting for things to happen, Anglin said. But there is something in the works and we hope to get absolute confirmation in the next three months.
An NCAA basketball tournament is being planned here. Government would support it but it would be a project outside of government. It would be a partnership between the association and the private sector.
The proposed time frame for the tournament would be late 2015, to coincide with the NCAA preseason for division one schools. Institutions like the University of Miami and the University of Florida play their seasons from November until March, climaxing with postseason competitions like the NCAA Tournament.
Anglin and other officials have reportedly received input in the discussions from former American basketball player Joe Wright. Anglin states the proposed Cayman tournament would cater to many schools.
This tournament is going to happen. We have passed information to various schools and it will be open, not just restricted to certain schools or divisions like the Atlantic Coast Conference. It would be a preseason kickoff tournament, like the Maui Classic. The Bahamas had one recently.
The proposed venue is the new John Gray High School indoor facility. That in itself is supposed to be epic and have seating for 2,500 people, wooden flooring and built for international standards for basketball, netball and volleyball.
It was started in the last administration, in Alden McLaughlins time. Agreements were signed under the Peoples Progressive Movement government. The facility is critical to our sports tourism product and the local sports scene.
Over the last two years, Nassau, Bahamas has staged a preseason tournament titled the Battle for Atlantis. Usually taking place in late November just before Thanksgiving, tournament action centres around Atlantis Resorts on Paradise Island. Matches are played in the Imperial Arena, a grand ballroom which is turned into a basketball venue.
The tournament is known for being the richest division one preseason event as schools are awarded $2 million in exchange for their participation. Last year, contests were televised on AXS TV and NBC Sports Network with the likes of ESPN, CBS and Fox Sports providing added media coverage.
In 2012, Mason Plumlee guided the Duke Blue Devils to the title, ahead of a field including the Louisville Cardinals and the Memphis Tigers. For 2013, the competing schools are expected to include the Kansas Jayhawks, University of Southern California Trojans and Michigan State Spartans.
Anglin states attracting American basketball powers here will be historic.
A tournament of this magnitude would be, I think, the biggest event in Caymans sports history when we think of the type of following and TV coverage with them. The economic impact these tournaments have proven to have in the past would be huge for Cayman.
Christopher Lopez, Bryce Thompson and Collin Barrett led the charge for Wahoo while Arin Taylor, Lloydell Williamson, Cameron Hydes and Azeem Burton led the way for Tarpon. Tarpon only led by 3 points at the end of the 3rd quarter, but exploded offensively in the 4th quarter; scoring 17 points and holding Wahoo to only 6 for a final score of 39-25 in favor of Tarpon [read more]
Christopher Lopez, Bryce Thompson and Collin Barrett led the charge for Wahoo while Arin Taylor, Lloydell Williamson, Cameron Hydes and Azeem Burton led the way for Tarpon. Tarpon only led by 3 points at the end of the 3rd quarter, but exploded offensively in the 4th quarter; scoring 17 points and holding Wahoo to only 6 for a final score of 39-25 in favor of Tarpon.
The finals MVP was Arin Taylor of Tarpon Academy who finished with 11 points, 4 assists and 3 steals; Cameron Hydes added 4 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.
For Wahoo: Christopher Lopez finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals.
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