Judgement Day in schools b-ball

It was judgement day in the NGC/Express Secondary Schools Association  basketball competition (Northern Conference) with the divisional finals played in front of an ecstatic crowd at the St Paul’s Street Gymnasium, Port-of-Spain on Sunday.

The first match was the Under-15 final between Excel Composite and Diego Martin Junior Secondary which Excel won 62-60. Diego’s Makesi Lewis fought hard to score a match high 38 points which was the highest individual score of the day, but his effort was overshadowed by Excel’s Kurt Snaggs (23) and Marcus Allert’s 20 points. Both Josimar Phillip and Michael Sandiford of Excel and Diego’s Kensley Sandy contributed 10 points each in the tight match which was 26-27 at the half, evidence of the fervor of the players. Malick Secondary who had a dream run all season long continued their unbeaten streak with a 34-24 win over Mucurapo Senior Secondary in the girls final. Malick’s Crystal Kirton stepped up her game for the event and gave a season high 26-point performance which could not be countered by Mucurapo’s duo of Affeisha Noel and Corisa Blugh who scored 14 and six points respectively in their battle for top honours in the conference.

Dylaun Skeete tortured Diego Martin Secondary from around the three-point border with six three-pointers on his way to a match-high 34 points which led his team to a 87-62 victory in the Under-17 Boys’ championship. The Morvant/Laventille Secondary player was part of a machine that met all challengers for the season with devastating force reaching the final with a perfect win record. Morvant/Laventille won the Under-15 division last year and retained the same players as they advanced to the Under-17 Division final showing the spirit and drive which won them the title. Sadiqi Guerra attempted as usual to win the match for his team with 32 points from his heart but Kyle Bruno with 12 points, Anthony Husbands, 12, and Carrill Mollineau’s 10 assisted the Morvant/Laventille victory. This year coach Anthony Lewis has seen his formula work once again as the Morvant/Laventille team he bred has developed into a force to be reckoned with and will be remembered for their two-year, two-division winning streak. The feature match on the day was the Under-20 final between Malick Secondary and Tranquillity Secondary with the former keen to complete a double but fell short of glory.

Tranquil captain Vonelle Applewhite led the charge with a match-high 26 points and Sherman Diaz scored an essential 13 points to help Tranquillity win the crown. A true warrior, Julius Sprott beat his body in aid of Malick scoring a team high 17 points while Steven Edwards’ scored 10 and as usual Akiel Wharfe provided precarious dribbles and angular passes but their collective efforts were not enough to help their team’s aspirations as Tranquil fought their way to their third championship. “Tranquil” coach Rudolph King expressed pleasure at his team’s performance stating that they stuck to their game plan and broke their opponents’ rhythm. He said that they were looking forward to going all the way to take the National Under-20 championship.