Bumble Bees sting way to title

The venomous Yellow Bumble Bees stung the Blue Barracudas 75-64 to lift the 2019 People’s Youth Charity Tournament hosted by Premium Academic and Sports Academy last night at the St. Michael School.

Bumble Bees created a buzz after being down 19-23 and 37-39 at halftime, but battled back to take a 58-51 lead heading into the final quarter. That lead was sufficient cushion for the lads in yellow to emerge victorious in the Under-18 competition, which is in its second year.

Adrian Craigwell, triumphant coach of the Yellow Bumble Bees said working with this successful group of youngsters was a good experience.

“From the draft day, I believed we had a very good chance of winning this tournament. What we tried to do is ensure we get players that can play with each other, compatible, and in the end, it all came through. My job was to guide them through the waters, they were the ones that actually sailed the ship. I let them decide what plays they wanted to run, and I just made sure I made an impact when I realised they were a little off, “ Craigwell said.

Brandon Ruck top scored with 20 points,while Adriel Brathwaite and Dijon Hunte added 18-points each and Chikosi Boardi scored 10.

Bumble Bees’ Kyrone Alexander was named the Most Valuable Player, while talented point-guard Deroni Hurley was named among the top five players of the tournament.

The Barracudas, which were coachd by Tehron King, set the tempo early and played physical inside the paint with the occasional three-pointers from their top scorer Kurt Lambert, who scored 21-points. That allowed Barracudas to dominate as well as they did in the first half and forced Bumble Bees to take a different approach.

Also contributing to the Barracudas total was Justin Bramao scoring 15 and Raquan Bispham, who made 10.

Barracudas were up 12-4 in the first quarter thanks to two consecutive treys by Lambert and with five minutes remaining Bumble Bees’ guard, Dijon Hunte responded with a wonderful three-point shot and a layup to cut the deficit to three.

But despite the effort of Bumble Bees to keep up, the Barracudas did well to ensure they attained a ten-point 23-13 advantage with two minutes remaining in the opening period.

Bumble Bees’ skilful star shooter Deroni Hurley with limited time on the board showed great determination to cut the deficit when he scored two baskets.

That tremendous effort by Hurley – adjudged player with the most assists in the competition – reduced Bumble Bees deficit to four (23-19) when the opening quarter concluded.

The lead shifted several times in the second quarter, and it all started when Bumble Bees were down 23-25 and Hunte nailed a three-pointer to give his side a slim 26-25 advantage.

But the scores ended up being tied 26-26 after Malik Clarke registered one of two free throws awarded by referee Shakira Shorey.

Once again, Hunte was in the thick of things with a three-point shot and received support from Boardi who hits a jumper, allowing Bumble Bees for the first time in the match to have a clear lead [31-26] as Barracuda with too many turnovers struggled to get a basket.

Just when Barracudas appeared as though they had lost a grip of things,they managed to equalise 37-37 with under a minute to play. With seconds winding down on the clock, Barracudas took the lead when Raquan Bispham scored a layup just before halftime.

The Barracudas coach then suprisingly subbed three of his top players, Justin Bayley, Kaliel Austin and Justin Bramao, all at the same time during the latter stages of the third quarter.

That proved to be a costly mistake and the Bumble Bees took full advantage.

It was then that Hurley and company went crazy with a number of steals, as they upped the intensity on offence that ensured Bumble Bees gained a 58-51 lead heading into the fourth and decisive quarter.

In the final period, Barracuda did all they possibly could to stay with Bumble Bees and at one stage-managed to cut the deficit by seven [69-62] after respective threes from Bayley and Bramao.

Clearly, Adriel Brathwaite with 18 blocks in the tournament was the answer Craigwell was looking for.

The lanky six-footer slapped away any attempted layups made my Barracudas while his other teammates kept close guard around the key.

From there Bumble Bees went on to score six points while Barracudas added just two which sent a clear indication that the former would be crowned champions and deservingly so.

morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb