By:Curtis Morton
The inaugural under 21 Parish league Basketball tournament, dunked off at the Grell Hull-Stevens Netball Complex, on Saturday night-8th of October.
President of the Nevis Amateur Basketball Association (NABA), Miss Wanda Parry, chaired the proceedings and commenced with an invocation.
This was followed by the singing of the national anthem by the representative teams from the five parishes on Nevis.
In her opening remarks, Miss Parry indicated that the aim of her Association is to ensure that the game of Basketball eventually becomes the biggest sport on the island and noted that in order to achieve that goal, the younger players must be given the opportunity to learn and develop.
She opined that the under 21 league, is an ideal way for them to hone their skills.
Vice president of NABA, Miss Veronica Brandy, also added her voice to the proceedings and wished all of the teams every success in the tournament.
‘May the best Parish win,’ she stated.
Miss Parry also took time out during her vote of thanks, to thank the Youth and Sports department for their tremendous assistance in making the tournament a reality.
Immediately after the opening ceremony, a very tense and exciting game one, was played between the St. Paul’s team and the St. John’s team. Incidentally, both teams were the finalists in the inaugural under 19 tournament, hosted earlier in the year by the Youth and Sports Department.
The winner for that tournament was the St. Paul’s team.
This time around, the St. John’s team, under the guidance of Coach Matthew Harding, won the exciting contest by six points.
Summary of the game:
St. John’s Parish 74 to St. Paul’s Parish 68
First quarter St. Paul’s Parish 17 – St. John’s Parish 12
Second quarter St. John’s Parish 18 – St. Paul’s Parish 14
Third quarter St. John’s Parish 26 – St. Paul’s Parish 13
Fourth quarter St. Paul’s Parish 24 – St. John’s 18
Half time score 31 – 30 in favor of St. Paul’s Parish
St. John’s Parish 74 points
Kareem Parry 42poi 9reb 3ass 7ste 3 turnover 16 of 21 free throw made
Dicquane Gerald 19poi 6reb 2ass 3ste 2 turnovers 5 of 10 free throw made
Danny Liburd 4poi 6reb 3ste 1turnover
Shaquille Parry 3poi 2ass 4ste 2 turnovers 1 of 3 free throw made
St. Paul’s Parish 68 points
Thabiti Abrams 28poi 17reb 3ass 2ste 8turnovers 10 of 21 free throw made
Zakese Smith 9poi 11reb 5ste 8turnovers 1 of 4 free throw made
Chavez Archibald 10poi 5reb 3ass 8turnovers 2 of 7 free throw made
Azaan Liburd 5poi 6reb 1ass 7ste 7turnovers 4 of 14 free throw made
Meanwhile, the tournament continued with two matches on Sunday 9th October. The results are as follows:
St. Georges Parish 2 vs. St James Parish 0
St. Georges Parish won by default.
St. John’s Parish 53 – St. Thomas parish 51
First quarter St. Thomas Parish 10 St. John’s Parish 7
Second quarter St. John’s Parish 16 St. Thomas Parish 14
Third quarter St. Thomas Parish 17 St. John’s Parish 12
Fourth quarter St. John’s Parish 18 St. Thomas Parish 10
Half time score 24 – 23 in favor of St. Thomas Parish
St. John’s Parish 53 points
Kareem Parry 31poi 3reb 2ass 3ste 2turnovers 10 of 15 free throw made
Dicquan Gerald 14poi 1ass 2ste 2turnovers 6 of 17 free throw made
Shemar Caines 3poi 5reb 2ass 2ste 6 turnovers 1 of 3 free throw made
Danny Liburd 1poi 7reb 3ass 1 of 3 free throw made
St. Thomas Parish 51 points
Hassan Harvey 21poi 3reb 3ass 1ste 1b/s 6turnovers 6 of 9 free throw made
Hakeem Harvey 5poi 12reb 1ste 7turnovers 1 of 3 free throw made
Steadroy Browne 7poi 3reb 2ass 2ste 6 turnovers 1 of 3 free throw made
Devon Jeffers 2poi 6reb 1ass 1ste 1turnover 2 of 4 free throw made
Next Game Tuesday 11th October 2016
7:00pm St. Paul’s Parish vs. St. Georges Parish