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CIBA Programs Benefit from Cayman Classic

The Cayman Islands Classic is an annual NCAA Division 1 Tournament that takes place at the John Gray Gymnasium the week of thanksgiving. The tournament is growing from strength to strength but so are the opportunities for the children in CIBA’s programs to benefit.

National Athletes were able to experience a clinic hosted by some of Utah State’s Athletes. The clinic not only involved drills and skill development, but also included a meaningful Question and Answer session with the Athletes as they discussed the their journey, the level of dedication and commitment required to make it to the college level as well as the ups and downs of being a student athlete. “The athletes immediately formed a bond with our kids and their advice pierced the consciousness of our players because it makes a difference when you hear it from someone who’s actually where you want to get to” – said CIBA president, Collin Anglin.

The Aggies went on to Win the 2023 Cayman Islands Classic Title! Perhaps it was a bit of good Karma for giving back!

CIBA Selects Youth Ambassador for Americas Leadership Program

CIBA continues to fulfil its mission of maximising opportunities for its members by selecting Vivian Worrell to attend a Youth Leadership Workshop hosted by the FIBA Americas. More than 20 Youth representatives from the Caribbean and Central America will attend a workshop in Puerto Rico from November 28 – December 3rd.

Vivian was chosen to represent CIBA because of her great interpersonal and leadership skills. She has been involved in basketball for over 5 years as a player, table official and a coach. She is eager to learn new things, has shown a desire to improve the lives of those around her through basketball and consistently gives back to the sport. CIBA is proud to have Worrell represent the Cayman Islands.

While in Puerto Rico, she will attend workshops, assist with various projects, learn about FIBA’s “Basketball For Good” initiative and then will be responsible for implementing a program within the next 12 months of returning to Cayman.

CIBA President, Collin Anglin, states that “Vivian is very excited about the program and is already sharing great ideas that CIBA looks forward to supporting!”

Cayman’s National EFiba Team Take on the Americas and the Caribbean

The Cayman Islands Basketball Association continues to make new strides and voyage into new frontiers! This time, its E-sports, one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Due to the popularity of gaming, FIBA decided to tap into this market segment and grow the basketball family by establishing national competition leagues via online gaming. This requires every bit as much skill and IQ as does the real game:

  1. There are five players that will play together simultaneously to represent their country.
  2. All players must meet qualifying criteria to represent thier country.
  3. Teams must practice together because each player can only control one character on the court.
  4. Players have had to practice individually to build up their character’s skill level, just like in real life.
  5. Teams must strategise by learning set offenses and defenses for best performance.
  6. Team mates have to communicate with each other for the duration of play, figure our their opponents and make adjustments on the fly.

The competition will first feature a qualifying round in which Cayman will compete against:

  1. USA
  2. Puerto Rico
  3. Barbados
  4. Guatemala
  5. Dominican Republic

This is historic because the Cayman Islands has never gotten to compete against the like of the USA, Puerto Rico or Dominican Republic before!

Everyone is invited to tune in to watch and support Cayman as they take on the best in the Caribbean and the Americas! Follow the games via youtube at the following link: (930) QUALIFIERS SOUTH & NORTH AMERICA BEGINS 🌍 GAMEDAY 1 🏀 – YouTube

See our National Team & schedule below:

345 Ballers Capture 3×3 Title

U17 boys division
345 ballers (Daric Ebanks, Leon Turner and Daniel Stone) defeated Sav Man 18-15 in the championship match to claim the Redemption 3×3 Championship Title.

Daric Ebanks finished as the MVP of the tournament with 59 total points, scoring 23 3-pointers throughout his 5 games
Joshua Barrett was the 2nd ranked player of the tournament and Xzavier Miller was the 3rd highest ranked player. Ebanks also set a record 8 3-pointers in a single game. In 3×3, 3-pointers are worth 2 points and 2 pout field goals are worth 1 point.

18 Year Streak Broken

the 2023 Natwest Island Games experience provided some great news for basketball. It is the first time in 18 years that both Men’s and Women’s teams have brought home medals for basketball in the Natwest Island Games.

Our men’s team didn’t get to 3-peat, but still were able to appear on the podium with a bronze medal while our women have had their best performance in over a decade, placing 2nd overall and bringing home a silver medal.

We are proud of our Men and Women!

661 Shine Bright

On July 10th, Cayman’s top Under 23 players took to the John Gray Gymnasium for the Shooting Stars 3×3 Basketball Tournament. In the previous showdown, Team Wakanda emerged victorious; but on this night there would be new kids on the block by the name of “661” who would steal the show. After 21 round robin games of play, the top two that emerged would be Team 1 – comprised of Lance Welcome, Alwin Buttrum and Revaughn Johnson, and 661 – made up of Nathaniel Anderson, Mark Mclean and Jahron Barnes.

Team 661 got of to a blistering start; hot shooting, strong dribble penetration and a team chemistry that looked like they’ve been playing together for years. Each player seemed to know where his teammate would be and when. They also created a lot of defensive problems for Team 1. Lance Welcome, the tournament’s top scorer was getting stifling defense. But there was no answer for Alwin Buttrum, who was punishing the small 661 players in the paint. This appeared to be the strategy that Team 1 should have led with but they realized this a little too late. The damage had already been done and there would be no recovery for team 1.

In the end – 661 would emerge victorious in their tournament debut. The players can’t wait until the next one.

From L-R: Jahron Barnes, Mark Mclean and Nate Anderson
NATIONAL TEAMS OFF TO ISLAND GAMES

Our National Men and Women’s teams are off to Guernsey for the 2023 NatWest Island Games.

The men would defend their back to back Championship titles. Gold in Gotland 2017 and Gold in Gibraltar 2019.

Our women placed 5th in 2019 and 6th in 2017.

The Men and women will play their first games this Sunday. The men will face Menorca at 9am Guernsey time or 3am Cayman time and the women will take on Jersey at 11:30am Guernsey time or 5:30am Cayman time.

NATIONAL MEN’S TEAM: L-R Coach Borislav Djordjic, Jake Whittaker, Bryan Ebanks, Philip Webb, Juawon Ebanks, Shaad O’Garro, Head Coach Duran Whittaker, Samuel O’Garro, Justin Collins, Justin Golob, Kwei General, Deandre Simpson, Davion Cotterell.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S TEAM: L-R Coach Victor O’Garro, Head Physio – Taylor Reid, Head Coach Wendy Manzanares, Chloe Powery-Doxey, Leandrea Watson, Jamie Rankin, Courtisha Ebanks, Kailan O’Connor, Zandie Smith, Neandra Forbes-Morgan, Team Manager Angela O’Garro, Victoria Gray, Vania Cornwall, Hannah Parchment, Coach Cory McGee, Annika Moore

Wakanda Take The Title

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.

Blazers Win Best of the Best Title

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.

Blazers have the Perfect Season

The Sol Blazers just keep piling up the win column! After completing an undefeated regular season, the league leaders would not disappoint their fans! But it would not come without a fight. The 2nd seeded CIS team was no pushover. They arguably have the best style of basketball in the league and a well rounded group. But the Blazers play a high octane and very physical style of play that often leaves their opponents in shambles. They take advantage of their athleticism.

The game was a fantastic one to watch. Both teams were neck and neck for the entire game. The game saw several lead changes and just when you thought the Blazers had it int he bag, CIS came storming back. It was definitely a game of chess as both coaches kept trying out different combinations and styles, hoping to find an easy formula to win. But there were none! The game was competitive from start to finish but in the end, the Sol Blazers would raise the championship trophy as the smoke cleared!

The Blazers were led by Jamie Dean Stewart who asserted his rebounding prowess and finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds, 7 steals and 4 blocks. Teammate Osmond Anderson (the League’s best defensive player) poured in 17 points to go along with his 10 rebounds. Jaylan Lopez was in foul trouble for much of the game but still managed to finish with 8 points and 8 rebounds while Arion Wright added 10 points and 2 steals.

For CIS, Scoring Champion Griffin MacDonald led the way with 24 points and 7 rebounds while rebound champion Ayo Ogunyebi added 15 points, 15 rebounds and 4 steals. James Fletcher, the leagues assist leader, added 9 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.

The Final Score: 65-57 in favor of the Sol Blazers who have now won the Men’s League, and the Under 16 boys league in the same year.

Sol Blazers
Cayman International School