Team Wakanda will definitely cherish this moment “forever” as they walk away the victors of the Generation Next 3×3 Basketball Tournament Held at the Arts and Recreation Center on June 29th.
It was a fierce competition in which every team suffered a loss. There were dunks, 3’s and lots of “And 1’s”! Teams played an intense, high tempo style of play. The two top teams during the round robin play were Nice Try – and Wakanda. In their first meeting, Nice Try edged past Wakanda 11-8. But Wakanda would have the opportunity for revenge as they met the team that they suffered their only loss to in the finals. Wakanda would emerge victorious by repaying “Nice Try” with an 11-8 defeat! MVP of the championship game was Jathan Barnes. Team Wakanda comprised of Daric Ebanks, Jathan Barnes, Noel Squire and Daniel Reyes.
The best of the best faced off on June 25th at the Arts and Recreation Center. Cayman’s top national and college players faced off for bragging rights and to see who truly is….the Best.
The competition was fierce and intense. Because of the high level of skill, games rarely ended because of time expiration; instead, it was an display of offensive mastery along with high flying acrobatics.
Although the young guns such as Joshua O’Garro, Justin Collins, Philip Webb, Tazmar Dawkins and Javonte Woolery put up a fight, they didn’t overcome the experience of the seasoned veteran blazers team of The O’Garro Brothers and Justin Golob. Astros met the Blazers in the Finals and although Davi Cotterell, Jake Whittaker and Deandre Simpson gave a scare, they were no match for the dynamic trio who have now won their second 3×3 tournament for the year.
The question in the Cayman 3×3 World now seems to be…”Can anyone Dethrone the Blazers?” Only Time will tell.
On April 28th, 10 Teams from the CIBA National Men’s Basketball League took the court to vy for the crown of this year’s first in a series of 3×3 Tournaments. The games were fast paced and loaded with offensive action! 3X3 is continuous and has a 12 second shot clock; so teams do not have any time to relax! As time progressed, the cream of the crop began to rise to the top; the Sol Blazers, Astros, Plantito and Silver Bullets would emerge as the top 4. The Bullets, led by Lance Welcome, tried to give Davie Cotterell, Whittaker and Rankine a run for their money, but the size and strength of the Astros was too much to handle.
On the other court, Plantito – a combination of the Philippines’ finest, took on the Blazers; but the O’Garro brothers, Omar Clarke and Justin Golob proved to be too much to handle. This would ultimately lead to the showdown that most expected; the Blazers and the Astros. As fate would have it this actually turns out to be the same teams that will face each other in the semi finals of the division one playoffs. Both teams were trading baskets for the first few minutes; it seemed impossible for one team to stop the other from scoring. But each time the Astros would score one point the Blazers would come back with two. This began to open up a little breathing space for the Blazers. But the Astros came storming back and a late long range shot from Shaad O’Garro sealed he deal to wind things up with a 21-17 finish.
The Blazers were awarded some gift certificates from Smoothie King, Winner Circle Sports and from the Title Sponsor – Cayman Cabana.
It was an exciting evening and players are already looking forward to the next tournament which takes place on May 19th.
3×3 is on fire in Cayman! With the success and excitement of the Senior divisions on display for all to see, the Juniors decided to take to the court to test their metal as well!
On October 20th, 4 teams took to the court to compete for 3×3 Supremacy! It was a very competitive field, there was no clear winner expected. No team would go without a loss; players were acclimating themselves to the new style of play and the rules. But when the smoke was clear, The Teams Splash (Enarre Smiith, Nicolai Manzanares, Aiden Shields and Daniel Stone) and Hoop Squad (Ryan Munoz, Ayo Ogunyebi, Lewis Wilks and Joshua Whittaker) would eventually meet in the finals.
Daniel Stone took advantage of his monstrous inside presence early and carried his team into the lead, buy Ogunyebi brought his team back with a series of crafty baskets inside. However, the distributed scoring of Smith, Manzanares and Stone proved to be a bit too much for the Hoop Squad.
Final score: Splash 8, Hoop Squad 4.
From L-R, Nicolai Manzanares, Enarre Smith, Daniel Stone, Aiden Shields
The past two 3×3 tournaments have all seen different champions. If you were left thinking “why should this one be any different?” then you would be right.
With BlazTros taking Round 1 and Gladiators taking Round 2, The Monarchs decided that it was time for them to assume the throne of the Triple Threat 3×3 Tournament.
Revamped and loaded with firepower, the team of Jerome Narcisse, Samuel O’Garro, Stephan Cotterell and Kwei General came out with blood in their eyes; even making the bold prediction “we are winning this”. They did not disappoint! They began by taking down the defending champs 18-17, then disposing of Blaztros 21-5. They sent the chosen ones packing 21-16 and would meet with the Gladiators once again for an epic, winner-takes-all finale!
Although Tikko Moore came out hot for and carried much of the load offensively for the Gladiators, it was not enough for the lights out shooting of Samuel O’Garro and the precision-based execution of Narcisse.
Team Bank Charge has established itself as the queens of 3×3 by capturing their 3rd consecutive 3×3 tournament title. However, this one did not come without a scare. A revamped Kaash Team, consisting of April Ebanks, Vania Cornwall and Vicky Gray, actually handed Bank Charge their first loss of the season during round robin play.
It was certainly up for grabs and everyone was certain that it would come down to a rematch for the title. But Bank Charge got hot late in the game with an onslaught of 3’s from Chloe Powery-Doxey and Hannah Parchment. One minute, it was 11-10 and then It just began raining 3’s! When that starts happening, hopes get diminished really quickly! In the end, Bank Charge would emerge as the undisputed champs for this series of tournaments, sponsored by the Cayman Islands Classic.
It was another exciting evening of three on three basketball action! Eight teams took to the court for 3 on 3 supremacy and bragging rights for the “hoop it up” tournament which is the second of a series of tournaments sponsored by the Cayman Islands Classic and in conjunction with a Cayman Islands Basketball Association.
For the men’s division, last week’s second place finishers – the Gladiators – came out with blood in their eyes and eager for revenge on the BlazTros. But they would have to wait for another day as the team called “The Chosen One” advanced to the finals after a three way tie between them, the Blaztros and team “Dem Ones”.
In such instances where there is a tie between teams, placement is then decided by total points scored. This is what propelled “the chosen ones” from being an underdog to competing for the championship and a grand prize of $1000.
But the Gladiators Would not be denied. In what seemed to be a performance motivated by a Russell Crowe-like speech, the gladiators lived up to their name and showed the Chosen Ones that they were chosen for second place. Final Score: 21-15
In the women’s division; the only question was who would be meeting the team called “bank charge” in the finals? The combination of Hannah Parchment’, Chloe powery-Doxey and Guiesha Smith proved to be Golden in the “who got game” three on three basketball tournament last week. But could they be strong enough for a repeat?
Team “truly infinity”, the most worthy adversaries and runners up in the previous tournament, also came on strong; but with their leader Vicky Gray missing, there was not quite enough firepower to overcome Bank Charge in the finals. Youngsters Lorrie Brown and Shantel Wilks led the way for Infinity and certainly have a right future ahead. Final score: 18-9 in favor of Bank Charge who are double champions!
L-R: Guiesha Smith, Hannah Parchment, Chloe Powery-DoxeyFrom left to right: Deandre Simpson, Tikko Moore, Jerome Narcisse, Curtis Wilson
