The Station Hill Cavaliers are one game away from securing a finals berth in the Barbados Amateur Basketball Association (BABA) Presidents’ Cup after defeating Burger King Clapham Bulls, 82-59 on Sunday evening at the Barbados Community College.
The matchup was expected to be competitive but fell way short of the hype long before the final whistle. The gritty, athletic Cavaliers jumped out to a 15-9 lead after the first quarter in a scrappy affair.
There were several missed opportunities in the game and on many occasions fans were left in shock at the frequency at which players were missing layups.
However, the Cavs upped their defensive intensity by employing a press that produced multiple steals, leading to easy points at the other end.
By halftime the lead had grown to 13 (40-27) and with the Bulls finding it hard to get to the rim due to the Cavs’ swarming defense in the paint, the lead increased to 18 (58-40) by the end of the third quarter.
Akeem Marsh, former national player and Most Valuable Player, had a good game for the Bulls, scoring 19 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. However, it was clear that Marsh was uncomfortable on the court, as he hardly played with his back to the basket and dropped several easy passes.
With the veteran not playing his best basketball, guards Rahiim Gibbons and Andrew Ifill – both nursing ankle injuries – Bulls had few options to lean on in the scoring department.
The glaring lack of scoring was evident, with Jamar King, Manuel Alleng and Clive Holder going a combined 0-15 from the field.
All the while, the Cavs were rolling on the other side, pushing their fast break plays and running back door cuts to score easily.
Station Hill were led by the reliable Zachary Cave with 16 points, Darren Hunte had 15 and Saeed Norville put up 11 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
For Clapham, Ifill had 12 points, and Gibbons contributed 10 points.
On Thursday both teams will face off in Game 2 of the best of three semi-final series.
Pinelands will also get another opportunity to break the 100-point mark after smashing Lakers Sports Club by 28 points, 101-73.
The writing was on the wall from the time the Lakers were matched with the unbeaten Pinelands and though they put up a fight, Lakers were out of the running by the second half.
The first quarter finished 20-18 with Pinelands having a slight advantage and the half ended 41-37.
The third quarter saw Lakers score 16 points, but Pinelands scored from every area on the court, more than doubling the Laker effort, which caused their lead to rise significantly to 23 points, (76-53).
Deroni Hurley was the main reason behind the scoring push by Pinelands. The shifty guard weaved his magic on the court, creating opportunities not just for himself but also his teammates.
In the final quarter, Pinelands allowed their bench to play, with the game seemingly out of reach.
Hurley led the way with 26 points, while his brother Derion and Deveron Knight both scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Veteran Jeremy Gill tallied 13 points in a game where he played predominantly in the paint and Rachad Hall scored 12 points.
For the Lakers, small forward Justin Bramao and power forward Johnathan Dottin top scored with 21 and 17 points respectively and Anand Joseph-Thorne and Makari Jones each scored 10.
(OS)
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