BBC, SMS to Under-19 basketball final

By Morissa Lindsay

Barbados Community College (BCC) and the St. Michael School (SMS) were both successful in their bid to reach the National Sports Council Under-19 Schools Basketball final having won their respective semifinal matches this afternoon at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium.

In the opening semifinal fixture, BCC commanded proceedings throughout the four allotted quarters 21-10, 40-14, 53-24 and 67-46 against Queen’s College. The second semis was just as competitive as SMS defeated Harrison College (HC) 16-16, 39-29, 52-46 and 73-66 to reach the championship final scheduled for Wednesday, December, 7th at the Gymnasium.

The victorious BCC team coached by Adrian Craigwell and Jason Smith were unstoppable once more with five players reaching double digits. They were Joshua Harvey and Scott Wharton accounting for 15 points each, Rory Taylor and Tristan Yarde added 12 and Michael Walkes ten.

Meanwhile for Queen’s College, Zachary Haynes netted 15 points and Zane Gaskin tallied 11 inclusive of two buckets as they tried to stage a second half comeback after trailing 40-14 at halftime.

However, the Queen’s College team coached by former senior national player Ryan Holford had much work to do including ensuring that they defended those backdoor passes that were effective for BCC.

The BCC lads in black and orange were in total control of the game, but that did not prevent Queen’s College from putting up some resistance. Gaskin in particular started hot in the final quarter with two consecutive three-point shots, followed by the reliable Tyler Forde scoring a lovely two-point jump shot. But one could have sensed it was all a little too late.

The other semifinal match between SMS and HC was also keenly contested with great intensity between the two teams. In the first quarter, SMS was leading 7-6 when HC coach Kelan Phillips got a technical for his antics on the sideline, from referee Rene Batson. Phillips was skipping up and down in reaction to plays on the court.

As mandated, SMS got a free throw – scored by Caleb Gaskin – as well as ball possession. Both teams tried to hustle on offence and while it was a slim one or two-point difference at halftime, SMS showed up in the decisive fourth quarter when it mattered most and extended the lead significantly.

Wearing their traditional blue uniform, SMS were up by nine points 69-60 with under three minutes left in the match. It was turning out to be a nerve-wracking situation for both sides; HC needed to score points and two of SMS key players, Zishan Motara (cramps) and Gaskin (head injury) were taken out to get medical attention.

It was exactly two minutes and 30 seconds when Gaskin got injured and prior to that Motara went down with cramps. However, they both made their way back on court eventually and led their team to the final.

Gaskin had a game high 17 points, while Motara and Noah DePaul, who played well on defence, tallied 14 points each. Aaron Massiah contributed 11 to the total.

Meanwhile for HC, Connor Sullivan and Nyeem Brown, both with 14 points, were the only two players to reach double digits. morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb