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*** BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS MEN BASKETBALL MAIN PAGE ***
 | BVI national junior basketball team mines bronze medal in Antigua | |
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| |  | In the days of old, the BVI and Antigua basketball teams often competed for championships and bragging rights in several different tournaments throughout the region.
Long past have been the days of the Jr. All Ah We Squad representing the BVI throughout the LIBA tournaments. On Saturday, August 16th a hint of rivalry may have been awakened.
The BVIBF Jr. national team and the Antigua Jr. Bulldogs squared off in the CBC Under-16 tournament on Saturday, a final tune-up for medal games on Sunday with the BVI coming out on top with a 72-64.
The crowd roared for the hometown Bulldogs as the game began, however the BVI showed poise under pressure as they jumped out to an early 14-point lead; however the host team came roaring back riding the emotions of the crowd. BVI attempted to regain command of the game often times leading by 5 or 7 points but every time they made a run the Bulldogs came roaring back.
The game was highly contested as the teams battled back and forth until late in the fourth quarter with the BVI leading by 5, a steal resulted in a Antigua fast break layup and a foul. The shot was missed but Antigua retained possession and subsequently fired a 3-pointer which hit nothing but net.
With the score tied and the crowd fully energized for the home team and a little over 3 minutes left in regulation, Raheem Blyden drove down the left side of the court drawing the defense then found a wide open Kareem Proffit for a clutch 3-pointer which gave the BVI the lead for good.
Saturday's game proved to be the backdrop for a highly anticipated rematch which even though it was a bronze medal game proved to be one of the most exciting for the night.
The bulldogs and the BVI traded baskets for most of the night and it seemed as if neither team would establish a rythym already short staffed by the early departure of 2 players the BVI seemed poised to fall as starting point guard Daryl Alexander fouled out in the third.
The day and the game would go to the unexpected as the fans all expected BVI to crumble with only 7 players and no depth at point guard. Then came Dione Blyden the soft spoken backup who had not played much minutes in the tournament; he stepped up in a gigantic way. He took the offensive load on his back and willed the BVI to victory scoring 7 of his 18 points during a splurt in the 4th quarter where he scored all his teams points either from the line or the field as he single handedly secured the bronze medal for team BVI.
Blyden also contributed 7 rebs and 3 assists, while Norville Carey added 15 pts ,15 rebs, 3 ass, and 2 blks. Shakil Rubaine chipped in 10pts and 4rebs to help the BVI secure the medal.
The team returns to the BVI on Monday 18th August and will be recognized for their efforts on Saturday 23rd August at the Multi - Purpose Sports Complex.
BVI News Online |
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| East rally against Guns 89-75 in playoff opener | |
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| | | BVI Basketball Federation
The Finishers got dusted and the Long Look Bulldogs tamed, while Guns are facing elimination in what has been a gripping start to the BVI Basketball Federation's 2008 Summer League playoffs.
Defending Senior Division champs, East continued their dominance over The Guns by erasing a 11-point halftime deficit and rallied to a convincing 89-75 victory in their opening best of three playoff series played last Saturday evening at the Multipurpose Sports Complex.
Guns came out shooting in the first quarter and appeared set to take their first win this season against the East after a blistering 13-2 run in the opening minutes coupled with early foul trouble pegged back the defending champions.
Led by David 'Bolo' Lettsome's game high 25 points and 8 rebounds, East fed off their large crowd support to stage an impressive come from behind victory and could send Guns packing as early as next Saturday when game 2 of the series is played.
Dwayne Penn and Dameon Ottley each had 15 points while Duron Phillips provided the spark off the bench with 12 points for the defending champs, who improved to 3-0 against Guns this season.
Devon Watty and Jahmal Rabsatt also had 10 points each to share in the East victory.
Despite foul troubles, Steve Parillon was explosive, leading The Guns scoring with 18 points and 7 rebounds.
Calvert White, 12 points; Houston Penn 11 points and Randy George with 9 points were the other main contributors for The Guns who were knocked out of the playoffs last year by East.
In Saturday's Intermediate 'Zone B' playoff action, Run It Red made light work of the Finishers with an 85-68 victory to take the best of three series in two games and set up a rematch with archrival, Da Boys who dismantled them in last year's playoff.
Jevon Morris led the way for Run It Red with 20 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals and served 4 assists.
Also contributing to the Run It Red victory were, Reynoldo Smith, 18 points and 7 steals; Damien Parillon 13 points and 9 rebounds; Akeem Tittley, 10 points and 6 rebounds; and Jamal Todman 9 points and 4 rebounds.
Finishers point guard Nicols Charles led all scores with 26 points and finished the series averaging 26.5 points. Nicolos Lauric chipped in with 13 points, Rhodni Skelton 8 points and Khamaal Anthony 7 points for the Finishers.
In the Intermediate 'Zone A' series, Long Look Bulldogs failed to capitalise on a 7 point half time lead against Off da Chainz on Saturday evening in their game 2 match and were eventually beaten 74-70 to make an early exit from the playoffs.
Daaryl George top scored for Off da Chainz with 19 points and picked off 4 steals. He was assisted by Karville Maduro and Keito Canto each with12 points. Shevon Reefe scored 11 points while Khoy Frett and Algernon 'Al G' Auguiste each had 8 points for Off Da Chainz.
Benson Thomas led the way for the LL Bulldogs with a game high 28 points. Vince Pickering scored 14 points, and Wakimba Lettsome and tad Martin each with 14 points, were the other high scorers for the Bulldogs.
Off da Chainz will face defending division champs, Ghetto Mix beginning next Saturday. See schedule of remaining playoff games for August below.
Wednesday August 20, 2008 (Starts at 6:00 pm)
Game 1 - Jr. Mystics vs. Wolf Pack
Game 2 - Another level vs. Full Force
Friday August 22, 2008 (Starts at 6:00 pm)
Game 1 - Full Force vs. Another Level
Game 2 - Da Boys vs. Run It Red
Game 3 - Young Legs vs. Bad Boys
Saturday August 23, 2008 (Starts at 6:00 pm)
Game 1 - Wolf Pack vs. Jr Mystics
Game 2 - Ghetto Mix vs. Off Da Chainz
Game 3 - Guns vs. East
Sunday August 24, 2008 (Starts at 5:00 pm)
Game 1 - Jr Mystics vs. Wolf Pack (if necessary)
Or And One vs. winner of Jr. Mystics/Wolf Pack series
Game 2 - Another Level vs. Full Force (if necessary)
Or Basics vs. Winner of Another Level/Full Force series
Game 3 - Bad Boys vs. Young Legs |
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| CBC: BVI suffers second straight defeat | |
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| | | by Gavin V. Emmanuel
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) suffered their second huge loss in as many days when they came up against the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) yesterday in the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Youth Championships at the JSC Sports Complex.
Having gone under by 33 points to the to the Bahamas the previous night, the BVI would have been hoping to salvage some pride when they met the their neighbours in the first encounter of a triple-header. However, it was the boys from the USVI who prevailed in an 86-59 routing.
The match began very spirited with both teams making good offensive decisions and rotating the ball well on both ends of the court. It was the USVI who got on the board first and began to pressure the BVI defensively. Nonetheless, the BVI stayed in the game and generally matched their opponents every offensive flurry. By midway through the second quarter, the BVI must have been fancying their chances against one of the more consistent offensive line-ups in the tournament, as they were able to keep the score within five points for most of the quarter.
At half-time, the scores were the USVI 38, and the BVI 33; and the BVI were looking to return with a strong performance in the second half to make this game one to remember.
Notwithstanding the obvious optimism of team BVI, the USVI showed why they are one of the teams with which to be reckoned in the tournament. Displaying great poise, they began the second half with the fury of a hurricane after the eye had passed. With solid defensive decisions, they kept the BVI scoreless for the first four minutes of the third quarter, while scoring at their own pleasure.
By half way through the quarter, the USVI had opened up a fifteen-point lead, and never looked back from there. So pronounced had the seemingly free for all got that at one stage the spectators might have wondered whether or not Moses was on the basketball court as each time a US Virgin Islander drove to the basket, the BVI players cleared the lane like the Red Sea being parted.
Just when it seemed that the USVI could do no wrong, midway through the quarter they got a scare when one of their point guards, Kadeem Jones, came down hard on the court and seemingly injured his knee.
He was taken off court for treatment, and did not return for the duration of play. However, the USVI physiotherapist opined that he would be well enough to continue the rest of the tournament, as his injury seemed to have been responding well to a cold pack.
His help was not needed, though, since by the end of the quarter his team had romped to a twenty-three-point lead. In all, the BVI were only able to manage ten points in that quarter.
Sekayi Peterson had 31 points, eight rebounds, and nine steals, while Merwin Potter had 16 points, 16 rebounds and two steals for the USVI. |
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| The Bahamas humbles BVI Jr. men's basketball team | |
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The Bahamas have sent a strong warning to the other teams with a 33 point battering of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Youth Championships at the JSC Sports Complex on Thursday.
Playing in the opening encounter of a triple-header, the Bahamas used what may be described as a 'shock and awe' strategy by opening the encounter with a well co-ordinated blitzkrieg, something for which team BVI seemed wholly unprepared. In the first three minutes of the game, the Bahamas jumped to a quick 10-0 lead and never really looked back.
Led by Michael Carey (25 points, seven rebounds, one block) and Basil Devereaux (25 points, nine rebounds, one block), the Bahamians steam-rolled the BVI's defence. Beginning with what became characteristic of the encounter, Carey put his team on the board with a three-point play and continued to dominate the game.
The BVI, for their part, were unable to penetrate the Bahamian defence in the early parts of the match. As a result, they settled for outside jump shots, and were unable to convert.
Later in the first quarter, they were able to rotate the basketball and create some easy lay-ups to keep themselves in the game. By the end of the first quarter, it was the Bahamas 29 and the BVI 18.
That momentum carried over into the second quarter, a quarter dominated by turnovers by both teams. But it was the Bahamas who had the better of their opponents as they added another twenty points to their 29; the BVI responded with seventeen points in this quarter. At half time, the scores were 49-53 in favour of the Bahamas.
Playing some aggressive offence and backing it up with solid defensive posture in the second half, the Bahamians outclassed their rivals in front of a small crowd.
This was particularly prevalent in the third quarter when several turnovers from the BVI led to easy scoring opportunities for the Bahamas. So much were they into the offence of this game that in this very quarter, several Bahamians added insult to injury by constantly slam-dunking in the faces of the BVI players, much to the delight of the crowd.
Unable to protect the basketball, the Virgin Islanders made it easy for the Bahamas to steal and score easily. As if this were not enough, they also allowed their rivals to easily block several shots in front of the basket.
One came with three minutes left in the quarter when Devereaux sailed across one side of the basket to deny Norville Carey what should have been a simple lay-up.
With a clear height advantage, the Bahamians were able to control both offensive and defensive rebounds, and in the process created many second-chance scoring opportunities. That was the story of the fourth quarter, and the match ended just as it started, with the Bahamas in total control.
Gareth Brown of the Bahamas chipped in a useful 17 points, five rebounds and four assists for his team. For the BVI, Deron Smith led the way with 17 points, five steals and three assists. Norville Carey who had 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal, and Jeremy Telemaque, who had eight points, eight rebounds, and three assists, helped his efforts.
In their first game, the BVI defeated St. Maarten, 86-17. |
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| BVI trounce Netherlands in CBC tournament | |
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| | | British Virgin Islands (BVI) trashed the Netherlands Antilles 86-17, defeating them by a whopping 69 points in the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Youth Championships at the JSC Sports Complex on Wednesday.
Playing in the days opening encounter of a scheduled triple-header, BVI dominated the contest and even showed off at some points with centre Noville Carey bringing the crowd to its feet in the third quarter with a right-handed slam dunk. The player ended the encounter as BVIs top-scorer with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks while Raheem Blyden had 14 points and 19 boards.
It was, however, all BVI throughout the contest as they out-shot, out-muscled and out-ran the tame Netherlands players, taking a 17-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. Things did not change much in the second quarter as BVI continued to out-play their wary-looking opponents to stretch their lead to 43-3 at the half.
BVI would add another 20 points to Netherlands five in the third to cruse into the fourth quarter with a 63-8 lead. Netherlands enjoyed their best half of play in the final quarter when they sank nine points but were still outscored by BVI who hit 26 points in the final 10 minutes quarter.
Captain Chadwick Richardson was the chief marksman for Netherlands Antilles, sinking five points, grabbing three rebounds and a block-shot while Shawin Blyden picked up three points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Coach of the BVI team, Brian Bewley, said that after watching the Netherlands 32-point loss to host Antigua and Barbuda on Tuesday night, his team came out to put their opponents under some heavy pressure.
We noticed that they did not play well when put under pressure so we decided to come out and play attacking basketball and I think we stuck to the game plan and the players were eager to just get out there and play, he said.
Captain of the team, Darryl Alexander, shared his coachs sentiments, stating the players worked hard during training and are hoping to go all the way.
We practised very hard for the tournament so I try to encourage them a lot out there so you never know what can happen we might just go all the way, he said.
Meanwhile, coach of the losing team, Gordon St. Luce, admitted to being outplayed by a more physical BVI team.
They played a more physical game than us and our guys also came out a little flat. Nothing really went well out there because we were outhustled and the other team just seemed to want it more than us, he added.
Antigua and Barbuda made a promising start to their campaign on Tuesday when they defeated Netherlands Antilles 102-70. Sheldon Abraham top-scored for the victors with 33 points while grabbing 16 rebounds, eight steals and racking up five blocks. Shaz Samuel and Xavier Galloway both contributed 14 points. Jonathan Johnson top-scored for Netherlands with 16 points.
by Neto Baptiste |
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| Showcase players have goals, dreams to achieve | |
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If indeed Avery Percival (198-85) fulfills his lifelong dream and plays professional basketball, he'll have traveled a much longer road than even he could have fathomed.
'Road' might be the wrong word, though, because no roads directly connect the places Percival has honed his talents.
After high school, the 6-foot-6 swingman from Tortola in the British Virgin Islands went to Columbia, Mo. to play for Moberly Area Junior College. After a year that didn't match his expectations, Percival was at Reagan High School Thursday to participate in the RCSSports.com Unsigned Senior and JuCo Showcase, hoping to be noticed by one of the several college coaches present.
'I always wanted to (come to the U.S. to play basketball). I want to go pro,' Percival said. 'Here, overseas, it doesn't matter. I want to get paid to do what I love to do.'
Percival, who plays virtually any position except point guard, does not expect to return to Moberly for the 2008-09 season.
'I was looking to get other looks from other schools because Moberly just isn't working for me right now,' he said. 'I want people to think I was on another level ... not so much on scoring and defense but just hustle. Stuff that a lot of players don't do that's huge in the game, and that's what I like to pride myself on doing.
'I'm not afraid to be physical. Stuff that doesn't show up on the stat sheet, that's what I like to do.'
Thirty-eight participants came from across the area, representing such varied high schools as Cypress Springs, Nimitz, La Porte, Dickinson, Fort Bend Baptist and Texas City and, among other colleges, Prairie View A&M.
Jim Hicks, proprietor of RCSSports.com, split the players into several teams. Each team played three games between 2:15 and 8 p.m.
Coaches from Marquette and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi were present early in the day, and several more schools streamed in throughout the afternoon.
Thursday July 31, 2008
Written by Dave Purpura
Avery Perceival 6'6 f (Virgin Islands 2002) - This is a brute strong grown man who was focused and understood the purpose of being there - to obtain exposure towards a free college education in the United States. Avery started off slow, but was much more aggressive and averaged 19ppg during his final pair of games.
Why is he still available? It's a known fact that players who live in the Virgin Islands often go unnoticed by our college coaches. This kid (ahem, man) took it upon his own to fly to Houston with hopes of enhancing his stock. San Jacinto coach was in the building, and has invited him to an on campus workout this weekend.
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| Digicel sponsors 2008 Summer Hoops Basketball Camp | |
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| | | Digicel today announced that it is collaborating with the newly established BVI Hoop It Up Foundation to host the 2nd Summer Hoops Basketball Camp in the territory.
The camp, to be held August 11th to 15th, 9am to 3pm at the Multi Purpose Complex in Road Town, targets youth ages 5 years to 18 years. The camp will expose up to 100 participants to basketball skills from professional basketball players from the BVI, including President and Founder of The BVI Hoop It Up Foundation Steve Parillon (196-F-78, college: Henderson St.) and members Randy George (200-F-81, college: Henderson St.), Kennedy Bass (196-F, college: Anderson), Jason Edwin, Rene Phipps and Brian Brewley.
The Foundation was established in July to provide a viable alternative to the youths of the British Virgin Islands in an effort to steer them away from the social ills affecting the community. The Foundation's motto is 'We are the present, the youths are the future'.
'We want to keep the youths drug free, off the streets, and make sure academics is priority,' stated Steve Parillon, President and Founder of The BVI Hoop It Up Foundation.
'We plan to have basketball youth rallies, basketball camps, after school programmes, and basketball tournaments. We also will be ensuring that dedicated basketball athletes pursue their ultimate goal, which is playing college basketball and then pro basketball'.
The 1st Summer Hoops Basketball Camp was held July 21st to 25th and catered to 40 youngsters.
'Digicel is keenly interested in supporting sporting events here in the BVI,' said Head of Sales and Marketing Debbi Jorgensen. 'While Digicel's core sponsorship areas are cricket and football, we know that basketball is one of the high interest sports in this territory, and as such, we feel proud to be able to partner with the Foundation to host this event.'
As part of the sponsorship agreement, Jorgensen presented a $1500 cheque to Parillon on Friday, along with 100 Digicel branded basketball t-shirts for the players.
The public is invited to attend a closing ceremony for the camp on Friday August 15th at the Multi Purpose Complex. |
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| Bad Boys seeks final playoff spot this Sunday | |
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| | | At the beginning of the BVI Basketball Federation 2008 Summer League in May, last year's senior division finalist Bad Boys never envisioned having to cling for a spot in the playoffs which start in a week's time.
Bad Boys will be looking to lift themselves from the hole they now find themselves in when they meet defending champs, East, this Sunday in a must win situation at the Multipurpose Sports Complex.
If they lose, Bad Boys will go head-to-head with Latinos in a tie-breaker game on Wednesday evening. Currently, both Bad Boys and Latinos each have one win, but Latinos hold bragging rights after defeating the 2007 finalist earlier this season.
Sunday's action starts at 6 p.m. with Run It Red facing Against the Odds. |
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| Jnr. National basketball squad steps up preparation for CBC tourney | |
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| | | Under the watchful eyes of former national player, Paul Ice Jones, the Virgin Islands Jnr. National basketball squad entered their final three weeks of practice sessions ahead of the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) tournament which has been shifted from the Dominica Republic to Antigua , and will start on August 17.
The tournament will feature players 16 years and under.
To come back home is excellent, I have been thinking about it for a while, I have been coming over and seeing how Bash (Brian Brewley) working and I know it hard. When you working to support your family and still trying to take care of everybody family, it hard. But, Bash makes the sacrifice and I make the sacrifice, Jones stated following a two-hour session on the basketball court in Lower Estate.
Jones who is now based in St. Croix has been working with several of the islands junior players and said he was honoured to return to help develop the sport.
Its real wonderful to see the inspiration in these players, we have a little improvement to work on, especially the short jump shot, but the guys are very determined and with that anything can happen, Jones added.
Jones was assisted by senior players, Kennedy Bass and Jason Edwin among others as the team went through their workout that included left and right hand rotation lay-ups, defensive sets against a shooting team, and full court presses.
When we go over there we will not be teaching and looking to correct. A number of the senior players have come out to support the team and to ensure that we put in a good performance. We have had Bass, Edwin and sometimes Steve Parillon come out and assist with getting the team prepared, said head coach, Brian Bash Brewley.
We had selected 15 players and right now we are down to 13 players, basically, we are still in between minds and we have not finalised the team, Brewley stated.
He added that the team definitely needs to work on the free-throws and cutting down on turnovers. We had three scrimmage games against the St. Thomas National team, but they really beat us because of turnovers, Brewley further stated.
He said that the last time the VI Jr. National team won a regional tournament was in 1999 and the VI last fielded a junior squad to a tournament in 2001.
Meanwhile, Jones appealed to parents and other adults in the community to support youth in sport by getting involved.
Being in St. Croix and working with 7-9, 10-12 and 13-15 and what was my inspiration, is to see how the youth them dying so young. We dont live in a bubble. If we go to the mall is the same youths, you go to the school is the same youths. Everybody fearful of the youth, but somebody has to go out. The youth them aint see no adult involvement so them get angry, Jones stated.
Written by Gordon French
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