2008
2008
2006

NBL Standings
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Slayers won NBL Championship 2006 |
Slayers
repeat as NBL Champions
It wasn’t
supposed to be this easy, but St. George’s Slayers don’t mind. The much
anticipated bMobile/KFC National Basketball League finals had an
anticlimactic ending, much to the disappointment of the many fans who showed up
at the National Indoor Sports Centre over the weekend to support their teams.
Slayers, after a very unstable regular season, got their act together in time,
and beat Urban Knights twice in two days to keep the Patrick Ewing trophy they
won last season.
Close but no cigars
Knights appeared ready for battle on Friday evening and it showed from the
tipoff. They swiftly took a 22-13 first quarter lead, and extended it to 44-32
at the half. As expected, Slayers were off to their usual lethargic start, and
it could have been worse had it not been for Andree Wilson and
Rohan Robinson, who kept them within striking distance. Knights
continued to dominate in the third, as the duo of Linton Murray
and Andy Smith kept hitting timely baskets. At the end, Slayers
cut the lead to eight (66-58), but you could not help but feel that the game was
far from over. As a matter of fact, the question was not if Slayers would come
back, but how soon. To complicate matters, center Damion Gardner
was done for the night as he fouled out in the third quarter. The comeback was
swift, as Slayers drew level (66-66) with 6:36 to go. In this battle of wills,
the game came down to who wanted it more. Knights took a 74-71 advantage but
Slayers came back to even the score 77-77 with just 1:30 left. Wilson would not
let his team lose, and put Slayers in front for the first time 79-77 with just
0:16 seconds left on the game clock. At the line for two free throws, the fans
chanted “MVP, MVP” as Wilson sank both shots. Slayers were never headed and went
on to score another come-from-behind victory (84-81) for a 1-0 lead in the
best-of-three series. Wilson led the champions with 25 points and 17 rebounds
while Robinson added 17 points. Murray with 20 points and 10 rebounds and Smith
with 16 points and 14 rebounds led Knights.
Too tough
The bad news for Knights was that they had less than 24 hours to regroup, or
their season would come to an abrupt end. Obviously, one day was not enough. How
else could one explain their abysmal fourth quarter performance on Saturday?
Knights looked promising early and held Slayers to only six first quarter points
while scoring 14. It got even worse for Slayers in the second, as they found
themselves on the wrong side of a 17-point lead, as Knights refused to wilt.
They went into halftime a confident bunch while holding a 32-18 lead. After an
even third quarter, Knights went into the fourth still sporting a double-digit
lead and looking a lot stronger than the night before. Coach Winston
Harvey opened the fourth quarter with a big line up featuring swingman
Kali McCarthy at the point, Wilson at the two guard, Robinson
at the small forward, Dwayne Goulbourne at power forward, and
Gary Cummings in the center. This quintet was just what the
doctor ordered. They ignited an unbelievable 34-2 quarter (no, this is not a
misprint) and totally overpowered Knights. They allowed their rivals only one
basket (two points) which, although unconfirmed, has got to be some sort of NBL
record. With the wheels falling off one by one, Knights were reduced to
clock-watchers, as they prayed for the final buzzer to sound. Once the buzzer
sounded, a dejected looking Knights left the court, while the champions
celebrated their 2-0 sweep and the fact that the championship trophy will remain
in their possession for at least one more year. Robinson was the high scorer for
Slayers with 21 points. McCarthy, who had been deputizing at various positions
throughout the playoffs, added 16 points, and Wilson contributed 13 points and
14 rebounds to bring his totals in both games to 38 points and 31 rebounds. Not
surprisingly, he was unanimously selected as the MVP of the series, and
deservingly so.
Wizards snatch third place
In the third place game, Denham Town Wizards defeated Tivoli All Stars 73-58
behind 14 points from Dwayne Harris and 14 points and 10
rebounds by Carl Wellington. Damian Young
netted a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds for Tivoli, while Jermaine
Peart added 13 points.
2005


Slayers are NBL Champions 2005 (Photo: Jamaica Observer) |
NBL Standings
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Slayers won NBL Championship
St. George's Slayers are the 2005 National Basketball League (NBL) champions.
After winning the mid-season finals, Slayers came back to take the double,
sweeping Tivoli All-Stars to win their best-of-three finals 2-0. Slayers won
game one on Saturday 94-88 in triple overtime.
NBL All-Star Weekend
The National Basketball League
(NBL) hosted their annual all-star celebration last Saturday at the National
Indoor Sports Centre in front of a semi-packed house.
All-Star game
First up was the East vs. West
all-star game in which the West led wire-to-wire and posted an easy 104-96
victory. The East never mounted a serious challenge and played catch-up
throughout. Coached by Pete Matthews of Running Rebels, the West led 28-18 after
the first period, 58-51 at halftime, and 85-75 at the end of the third quarter.
Anthony Farquharson 23, Owain Hall 17, and Kali McCarthy 14 led the scoring for
the West. Michael Jackson 21 points, Roger Johnson 16, and Damion Young 14 led
the East who was coached by Dennis Hutchinson of Tivoli All-Stars.
Three-point contest
In the three-point shootout,
contestants found baskets hard to come by, but Dale Lindo (Braves Chiefs) and
David Stratchan (Running Rebels) advanced to the final where Lindo easily won
the title.
Slam Dunk
The Slam Dunk competition
produced less than stellar dunks. It was not until Leon Chung (St. George's
Slayers) - the Jamaican Spud Webb - took the floor and produced an array of
high-flying dunks that the fans got excited. Chung advanced to the finals along
with Odile Richards (Tivoli All-Stars), but was unable to reproduce his heroics
in the finals enabling Richards claim the title.
Before the festivities got on
the way, the fans were treated to a soul-stirring rendition of the National
Anthem by Fernando Young (Urban Knights).
Teams
West All-Stars: Owain Hall,
Kali Carthy, Andree Wilson, Rohan Robinson (St. George's Slayers); Fernando
Young, Linton Murray, Andrew Wilby (Urban Knights); Dushane White, Desmond
Harriott (Blazing Panthers); Carlos Malcolm (Link Up All-Stars), Anthony
Farquharson (Denham Town Wizards) and Rodney Wiggan (Running Rebels).
East All-Stars: Paul Oliphant,
Orville Perkins, Damion Young, Shawn Murray (Tivoli All-Stars); Michael Jackson,
Christopher Walker, Gary Reid (Harbour View Lakers); Kevin Currie, Morais Reddie
(Braves Chiefs); Adrian Coote, Kereem McFarlane (West Cumberland Flames); Kemar
Cohen (Rae Town Raptors).
2004
Final: Urban Knights - Slayers 2-1
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