By Morissa Lindsay
Station Hill Cavaliers overcame Lakers Sports Club strong defence and registered a hard fought 45-39 victory in the ongoing Barbados Amateur Basketball Association Summer Jam Tournament played last night in the Pine, St. Michael.
The first three stanzas of the Under-19 showdown ended 12-12, 20-19 and 30-26 in favour of Cavaliers with a group of talented young players such as Gavin Phillips. He brought back memories for his head coach Adrian Craigwell of retired outstanding Barbadian player Andrew Alleyne with a high-flying dunk that brought murmurs around the court.
According to coach Craigwell, what he saw from the 18-year-old Phillips with a contribution of 14 points in the match, was basketball from 30-years ago. That particular play started when Cavaliers point guard Gavon Phillips brought the ball forward from the halfway line until the possession eventually found his twin brother Gavin Phillips outside the three point arc.
Gavin then drove to the basket, elevated and unleashed a monstrous dunk over the heads of two of the tallest Lakers players including their lead scorer Khato Moore. That sent the crowd on hand at the Pine hardcourt into a frenzy as they ran all across the court in disbelief at what they saw from Phillips in the first quarter. The match officiated by Tyoka Young and Dwight Rouse was briefly halted as spectators expressed their excitement at what they had witnessed.
Antawn Winter who made the assist to Phillips for that splendid dunk top scored with 17 points for Cavaliers while captain Jahiem Yearwood netted ten and Enrique Holder-Fields had four. Khato Moore had 13 points for Lakers while their next best scorer was Mahkaya Moore with 11, in what was a physically contested match that had its heated moments.
Cavalier’s captain Yearwood was instrumental for them on defence as he utilized his height and compact physique well to deny Lakers’ offence several times.
The tension between Lakers coaching staff and the referee Young was also a side battle in itself as they were unhappy with the calls made and voiced their opinions. So much so that Lakers head coach Derrick Browne received a double technical in the last quarter.
One of the Lakers male supporters went as far as to ask how Young even got a whistle to officiate in the first place because they were dissatisfied with the calls made at times. But credit to referee Young for handling the situation as best as he could during the encounter. As the tempers flared in the heat of the match, credit also to the young crop of Cavaliers players as they paid attention to the plays on court and carried out instructions given by their veteran and highly respected coach.
The passes, drives and finishes were also brilliantly executed by Cavaliers as they found the basket with ease. The Lakers on defence were uncoordinated at times but nothing that time and continuous growth cannot fix. In fact, that is part of the reason referee Young was so strict in his calls because he kept telling the Lakers team there was no need to be so physical.
The final Under-19 match-up between Burger King Clapham Bulls and host Pinelands was not much of a contest as the former won 64-35 (14-13, 35-22, 56-31) in what was a one-sided affair.
Bulls led by their most senior player and captain Simeon Maynard registered a game-high 14 points while Rodston Best accounted for 13 and Rory Taylor netted nine. For Pinelands Rasheed Moore netted 12 and Nigel Jones added 10. morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
