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*** TRINIDAD / TOBAGO MEN BASKETBALL MAIN PAGE ***
 | Shak Attack start strong in club champs | |
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Action in the National Basketball Federation of Trinidad and Tobago (NBFTT) National Club Championships (NCC) will continue today at Jean Pierre Complex with two matches at the Maloney Indoor Sports Arena.
Defending champions Detour Shak Attack will be seeking their second win in as many outings in Group One, when they take on Tobago outfit Courts Hill Bouncers from 5.30pm, while the first women's game of the championships between Brian Chase Academy of the East and North Zone powerhouses and former champs Defence Force will begin at 8pm.
Last weekend however, Shak Attack and title aspirants Defence Force enjoyed stroll-on-the-court wins over Marabella Raptors and Valencia Heat, respectively.
Playing the last fixture on the opening day's programme, forward Andrew Ifill hit a game-high 21 points and had nine rebounds for Shak Attack, who rallied back from a one-point (35-34) deficit at the break to win comfortably, 76-64.
Other notable contributors for Shak Attack, who won the title in 2005 and 2006 before the competition took a break in 2007, were former UTC Maloney Pacer Kenyatta Alfred, with 17, including three three-pointers from four attempts and Kenneth Roberts, who had a pair out of threes. Alfred also had eight rebounds.
Ako Pascal led two others into double figures as the boys from the southland were outscored 39 to 29 by their counterparts from the North.
Pascal had 17 points and two steals. K Alfred added 15 and had a rebound and steal each. Kern Asivero also had a good game for the losers, grabbing a game-high ten rebounds, while scoring four points
In the opening match of the championships, 2003 champs Defence Force marched past East Zone champions Valencia Heat 83-61 in Group Two. The soldiers won after trailing 21-17 after the first quarter and 38-36 at the half-way stage.
They also achieved victory without their stars player Steven 'Lighter' Lewis, who arrived late at the venue and without his team's uniform.
In his absence, his namesake Peter Lewis led the 'Army' offence with a team-best 20 points.
Kevian Bacquain-the best centre went the last competition was held-had a big night when he registered the first double-double of the new campaign, pulling down ten rebounds and scoring 11 points. He also contributed seven steals. Gerard Toney had 14 well-earned points for Defence Force, who finished runners-up in the North Zone this season.
Valencia had three players scoring in double digits. Wayne Richard netted a game-high 21 to go with his eight boards and four steals.
Kevin Green drained 15 and had a dozen rebounds, and Stefan Davis provided 12 points, half-dozen off the glass plus a couple of steals.
The top two clubs from the two groups will move on to the semi-finals and best-of-three playoffs.
The two winners will play in the final, while the losers play for third place.
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| Champion of Champions Tournament starts tomorrow | |
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| | | Reigning Men's and Women's champions Shak Attack and Courts Horizon will defend their titles this year in the National Basketball Federation of Trinidad and Tobago (NBFTT) Champion of Champions Tournament, which tips off tomorrow with a triple-header at Maloney.
But neither of these teams will kick-start the $300,000 competition, whose major sponsor is the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SPORTT).
Action in the tournament gets underway from 2 p.m. when Star Seekers, Tobago zonal winners for the last five years, challenge Maloney Pacers, East Zone champions for the past five years, in Group A of the Women's draw, while STAFF, third in the East, will tackle Defence Force, who dethroned North Zone champions Horizons in the last competition in Group B.
And the first Men's match-up will be the highlight of tomorrow evening when Courts Hill Bouncers attempt to out-point Maloney Pacers, perennial East Zone champs, who will have home advantage.
Eight teams-the top two from the North, South and East zones, as well as the winning teams from the South West and Tobago-will play in two groups in the Men's competition, while the Women's category took the top two teams from the East, North and Tobago zones for a total of six.
Along with Shak Attack, Hill Bouncers and Pacers, the Men's competition will include 2006-2007 South Zone winners Petro Jazz, 2008 South Zone champs Marabella Raptors, 2008 East Zone champs Valencia Heat, South West table-toppers TRINMAR Marines and North Zone runners-up Defence Force.
Among the Women, Horizons, Star Seekers, Pacers, STAFF and Defence Force will be joined by Brian Chase Academy as they compete to become the country's best female squad.
And the prize money has increased this year.
The champion Men's squad will receive the winners' cheque of $30,000, up from $20,000, while the runners-up receive $20,000 and the third-placed team will be awarded $15,000.
On the Women's side, the winners walk away with $20,000, the second-placed team earn $15,000 and $10,000 for the third-place team.
Gordon Felix, head coach of Shak Attack, predicted his team would continue at the helm of the national competition.
'We are happy to be in front and we intend to stay in front,' he said.
NBFTT president Earl John said the sport was grateful for the subvention of SPORTT, but said his organisation was aware of the need to help themselves.
'SPORTT has provided the funding for this competition but we also need to become self-suffcicient, attract other sponsors and raise funds so our dependence on SPORTT becomes less,' said John.
The Champion of Champions Tournament will climax with a NBFTT gala dinner and awards ceremony on January 10.
John also stated that the core of the national senior team for next year's Caribbean Basketball Championships in July will be selected from the players in this tournament and there is a possibility that there will be an incentive for the winners of the competition to go on a tour of Venezuela to play their championship team.
trinidadexpress
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| North Zone Round Up | |
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| | | DEFENCE FORCE bounced back against Detour Shak Attack by levelling the best-in-five-match series 1-1 on Friday night, as the mens finals in the First Division of the North Zone Basketball League continued at Jean Pierre Complex in Mucurapo.
After losing Game One on Monday 89-99, Defence Force came out hungry for victory and recorded a runaway win 91-68. At halftime it led 42-36.
Marvin Celestine and Steven Lighter Lewis spearheaded the soldiers attack, scoring 24 and 22 points respectively. Keivan Bacquain chipped in with 12.
For Shak Attack, Kurt Koto Christian topped the scoring with 18. Andrew Ifill, who starred in Game One, could only muster 12 points.
Laventille Celtics took control of the Second Division series by edging Macoya Forum 73-71. Celtics won Game One 65-59.
Orlando Mapp (19) and Ashton Antoine (17) were the chief scorers for Celtics while Akil Paynter (29) and Kwesi Alleyne (17) led the scoring for Forum.
Celtics could wrap up the series on Monday when Game Three of the Best-of-Five final is contested at the same venue, from 6.30 pm.
After the Celtics-Forum match, Defence Force and Shak Attack will square off in Game Three. |
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| Mucurapo, Trailblazers win Super 10 b-ball titles | |
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Mucurapo Secondary School and Trailblazers Youths are the Under-18 and Under-15 champions of the 2008 Super 10 Junior Basketball League.
Following Thursdays programme played at the Woodbrook Youth Facility, Mucurapo Youths stopped Trailblazers from completing the double with a 53-42 win in the Boys 18 & Under division.
Kemrick Julien starred for the Mucurapo team with 28 points. Next best was Stephen Taylor with 21.
Three players got into double figures for Trailblazers. They were Austin Ralph (25), Jamal Hill (15) and Jaedon Bobb (14).
Team Super 10 Camp, runners-up in the 15 & Under division. As a result of the defeat, Super 10 Camp emerged runners-up because they were beaten 69-67 by Mucurapo in the round-robin play which decided the final placings of the teams. Both teams finished with 3-1 record. The teams comprised boys and girls.
Trailblazers younger players tasted success by defeating the Super 10 Camp team 33-30 to secure the 15 & Under title from their three-match schedule.
The 2008 League and Camp were supported by Gold medal Sports Company, Carib Brewery Limited, Toyota T&T Limited, NLCB, Republic Bank Limited, TCL and HCL and had over 125 boys and girls participated.
Results of the past three days:
U-15 Division
TRAILBLAZERS 44 (Shaquille Julien 15, Jalimar Joseph 13) v DIEGO MARTIN ALL STARS 33 (Darian Gonzales 16, Shereon Mitchell 12).
MUCURAPO YTHS 61 (Kenrick Julien 31, Takaya George 9) v SANGRE GRANDE YOUNG STARS 69 (Rondell Winters 20, Michael Saunders 19, Occie Pierre 12).
TRAILBLAZERS 33 (Shaquille Julien 22; Jalimar Joseph 9) v SUPER 10 CAMP 30 (Nathyoio Lewis 17; Tamica Hayes 9).
U-18 Division
SANGRE GRANDE YOUNG STARS 58 (Rondel Winters 17, Kerrem Davis 14, Michael Saunders 13) v SUPER 10 CAMP 61 (Ashton De Murrell 30, Kayon Joseph 15, Nicholas Pierre 10). Quarters 17-21, 30-37, 43-44.
TRAILBLAZERS 42 (Austin Ralph 25, Jamal Hill 15; Jaedon Bobb 14) v MUCURAPO YTHS 53 (Kemrick Julien 28; Stephen Taylor 21). Quarters 10-22; 28-39, 53-42. |
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| Kibwe trim will plat in Romania | |
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24-year old power forward Kibwe Trim (208-F/C-84, agency: Priority Sports, college: Sacred Heart) will play this upcoming season in Europe for Romanian team CS Energia Rovinari Targu Jiu. They just signed the player together with Montenegrin center Miko Golubovic (208-C-82, agency: Global Sports Plaza). Trim played most recently at Dakota Wizards (D-League) in the U.S., where his stats were : 35 games: 2.7ppg, 1.5rpg. |
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| US coaches: T&T players lack fundamentals | |
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| | | TALENTED and athletic is how the coaches of Claflin State University and Delaware State University basketball teams described local players, following their week-long visit to Trinidad and Tobago earlier this month.
The two United States university squads were in T&T to fulfill previous arrangements made by the National Basketball Federation of Trinidad and Tobago (NBFTT) on behalf of the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SPORTT).
Claflin State University campaigned in Division Two of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), where they finished the 2007-08 season with a 24-2 record.
Speaking to the Express at the Jean Pierre Complex, Port of Spain, Claflin's head coach RE Woodard observed that local players are athletically sound, but lack the necessary skills and fundamentals to be effective in execution.
'You have got a lot of good athletic players here,' said Woodard, who has been the coach of Claflin State University for the past five years and a coach for 15 years overall.
He added: 'But they are not fundamentally sound and they need to work on that if they are to be effective in their execution.'
Woodard also said, despite their weakness, T&T players can become very dangerous if 'you allowed them to stick around in the game'.
'They could be very scary on the floor if you allowed them to hang around because they have the size, they are alert and they are very quick over the floor,' said the Orangeburg-based university coach.
Keith Walker, coach of Delaware State University who placed fourth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference last season, also highlighted similar sentiments to that of his countryman.
'What you have here are players who have extremely good athletic ability, speed and skills that need refining,' said Walker.
According to Walker, systems must be put in place to develop the players' all-round capabilities, so their skills can be refined.
'The players need some development programmes to help them acquire the basics of the game so they can be very competitive throughout,' Walker explained.
On court in T&T, both US universities played four games apiece against local all star teams and were victorious in all of them and in commanding fashion.
They came up against zonal champions Petro Jazz of the South Zone and perennial East Zone powerhouse UTC Maloney Pacers.
They were also triumphant over a North Zone Under-23 squad, North Zone Seniors plus a T&T Senior All Star line-up at the Jean Pierre Complex last week.
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| Millennium camp opens | |
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| | | BOYS and girls age eight to 18 have a chance to improve their skills at this years seventh edition of the Millennium Basketball Academy Skills Development Camp.
The camp will again be conducted at the Maloney Indoor Sporting Arena, Maloney Gardens from Monday between 8 am and 4 pm.
According to recently inducted Hall of Famer Joseph Lenny Guy, apart from the local coaches, two top United States basketball men will be here to put the youngsters through their paces.
Brian McCormick who is California-based and who coaches youth, high school and college players and Lawrence Mann, founder of Top Achievers Foundation, Plano, Texas, are the foreign coaches.
Once again, coach Albert Lee Young is director of the camp, a position he has held since inception.
Guy is the technical director while other coaches will be ex-national skipper Anthony Tannis, Peter Lewis, Ronald Sylvester and Rhonda John-Davis.
On the final day of the camp there will be an All Star game and awards will be handed out to the young basketballers.
Uniforms and registration are free while all will be afforded certificates of participation. |
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| Fresh elections loom for NBFTT | |
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| | | The National Basketball Federation of Trinidad and Tobago (NBFTT) will attempt to bring an end to the rift within the organisation with fresh elections in the near future.
Following a meeting with the NBFTT on Monday, T&T Olympic Committee (T&TOC) president Larry Romany yesterday confirmed that a 'tentative date' had been set for the Federation's special general meeting, when officials will be elected for a two-year term.
The tenure of the Federation's current executive was scheduled to end in March of next year.
Romany, however, did not want to disclose particulars of the agreement between the two differing parties within the Federation, namely current president Earl John and presidential aspirant Brian Manning, son of Prime Minister Patrick Manning, saying that the NBFTT were dealing with the matter internally, while the T&TOC act as mediators.
The T&TOC instructed that John and some other NBFTT officials be re-instated earlier this year after they were ejected from the Federation by a group led by Manning.
The rift has resulted in Government's financial assistance to the NBFTT being cut and, according to John, the Federation have suffered as a result.
'At the moment we cannot fund our programmes,' John told the Express yesterday, 'because no funds are forthcoming.'
In a recent interview, John explained that the constitution required a special request for removal of officers by at least 30 per cent of the Federation's board to initiate election proceedings.
'Nobody within the Federation has so far requested (removal). They have to request removal of directors within the board,' John explained. 'When that is received, then the board will have a special general meeting according to the constitution.'express |
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| Govt witholds basketball $$ | |
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GOVERNMENT has decided to indefinitely withhold financial assistance to the National Basketball Federation of Trinidad and Tobago (NBFTT).
Newsday learnt yesterday that Government has called on the beleaguered basketball officials to iron out their differences and work together in the interest of the sport and its development before they are once again eligible for assistance.
This decision was taken on Friday of last week, close to a month since an agreement was reached between two warring factions of the national body.
Recently NBFTT president Earl John and fellow members June Rogers, Vice-President Marketing and Communications;Assistant Secretary Darrel Joseph and Technical Director Obadiah Asher were ejected from the organisation.
At an annual general meeting earlier this year Brian Manning, son of Prime Minister Patrick Manning was elevated to president but this development led to complaints to the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) who were called in to arbitrate. Last month the TTOC agreed to re-instate John and the other members following an agreement between the warring parties. However Newsday understands that TTOC officials are now demanding that the John-led federation call fresh elections now.
Contacted yesterday John would only confirm Governments decision to withhold their financial help to the federation pending the determination of the outstanding issues.
Another source however told Newsday that members of the federation are complaining that in the agreement brokered by the TTOC between the parties, executive members of the federation can only be removed outside of the constitutional date at a special meeting called by the president.
They are also claiming that the TTOC demand is not appropriate since no new time for elections was agreed to, neither has any member submitted their resignation to warrant a replacement.
According to the source the decision to re-instate John and the other members was taken based solely on the fact that their ouster was deemed unconstitutional. The re-instatement also came because the John-led faction complained that their removal was made by a vote of no-confidence outside of the election year which is due in 2009.
It is understood that the current administration intends to hold elections at the constitutionally due time next year. The TTOC had also recommended in their arbitration agreement that the NBFTT constitution be amended to remove ambiguities and anomalies. Now members of the federation are openly querying why the Olympic Committee, led by Larry Romany, is insisting that elections are held before it is constitutionally due.
They are also are charging that TTOC officials are renegging on aspects of the arbitration agreement.
Efforts yesterday to contact Romany and other members of the Olympic Committee proved futile.newsday
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