Category National Men’s League

Jan B Pilipinas Defend Their Title

In a thrilling finale to the National Men’s League Division 2 Championship, Jan B Construction edged out Cayman’s U17 Boys team in the decisive third game of the series, clinching the title with a final score of 91-86. This intense matchup not only showcased the high skill levels of both teams but also highlighted their resilience and strategic execution throughout the series.

Top Performers for Jan B Construction:

  1. Jan Barrozo emerged as a key player, leading his team with 26 points. His effective shooting inside, achieving a 52.2% success rate, coupled with his ability to pull down 11 rebounds, provided Jan B Construction with a solid foundation in both scoring and defense.
  2. Prisfel Cruz was a significant contributor with 21 points, demonstrating his sharpshooting skills by hitting 45.5% of his three-point attempts. His proficiency from the free-throw line, where he made 85.7% of his shots, was crucial in the closing stages of the game.
  3. Brian Lacap added 12 points, including key three-pointers that helped shift the momentum in favor of Jan B Construction. His all-around gameplay was evident with 5 steals and 5 assists, making critical plays that spurred his team forward.

Top Performers for U17:

  1. Griffin Macdonald put on a stellar performance, scoring 31 points to lead all scorers. His ability to convert from beyond the arc, where he made six three-pointers, kept U17 in contention throughout the game.
  2. Osmond Anderson was a powerhouse on the boards, grabbing a game-high 20 rebounds and adding 16 points. His double-double performance was a key factor in U17’s competitive edge.
  3. George Brooks contributed 17 points and provided playmaking with 4 assists. His scoring and facilitating played a significant role in U17’s offensive strategies.

Game Analysis:

Jan B Construction showcased their strength in shooting and ball handling, as evidenced by their 49% shooting from two-point range and a solid 34.5% from three-point territory. Their ability to manage turnovers was also impressive, with a 100% assist-to-turnover ratio highlighting efficient passing and decision-making under pressure.

U17 displayed robust rebounding, outmatching Jan B Construction with 45 total rebounds to 37. However, their three-point shooting was slightly less efficient at 32.3%, and their 60% free-throw shooting may have cost them in crucial moments.

The game was a fitting climax to a hard-fought series, with Jan B Construction ultimately seizing control in the final period. Their ability to execute in clutch situations, combined with strategic defensive plays that limited U17’s opportunities, were decisive factors in their victory.

This win marks a significant achievement for Jan B Construction, capping off a successful season with a championship title and their 2nd in a row! Both teams displayed tremendous heart and skill, contributing to a memorable and highly competitive series that highlighted the best of Division 2 basketball.

The U17 Boys team are to be commended for a fantastic season as they were boys playing against men but showed wisdom and skill beyond their years!

Sol Blazers Solidify Their Dynasty

In a dramatic display of basketball prowess, the Sol Blazers triumphed over the IRG Astros with a final score of 98-86, securing their second consecutive and eleventh overall championship title. This victory was not just a win but a testament to the Blazers’ sustained excellence and dominance in the league.

Top Performers for the IRG Astros:

  1. Davion Cotterell once again proved why he’s a key player, delivering a powerhouse performance with 37 points. His relentless attacks and shooting from both inside and beyond the arc kept the Astros competitive throughout the game. Cotterell also contributed 6 rebounds and 3 assists, showcasing his all-around skills on the court.
  2. Jake Whittaker supported the team with 16 points and 10 rebounds, achieving a critical double-double. Whittaker’s efforts on the boards and his scoring inside provided much-needed stability and scoring depth for the Astros.
  3. La-Rue Nixon added a valuable 13 points, including an impressive 60% from three-point land, which highlighted his shooting capabilities. Nixon’s contributions were crucial in keeping the game within reach during key moments.

Top Performers for the Sol Blazers:

  1. Tarik Smith-James led his team with a spectacular 42 points, dominating the court with his shooting efficiency. Smith-James was unstoppable from beyond the arc, where he nailed 6 of 11 attempts, and he was perfect from the free-throw line, making all 12 of his shots. His playmaking was also on display with 7 assists, orchestrating the Blazers’ offense to perfection.
  2. Samuel O’Garro contributed significantly with 31 points, showcasing a phenomenal 75% shooting from two-point range and an impressive 54.5% from three-point range. O’Garro’s dynamic performance was crucial in extending the lead and putting pressure on the Astros’ defense.
  3. Shaad O’Garro was a defensive powerhouse, blocking 7 shots which set the tone defensively for the Blazers. Offensively, he added 11 points and collected 10 rebounds, achieving a double-double that underscored his impact on both ends of the floor.

The game itself was a showcase of high-intensity basketball with the Sol Blazers displaying a masterclass in shooting precision. Their remarkable 52.6% shooting from the field and an astonishing 100% from the free-throw line were indicative of their focused play and execution under pressure. Meanwhile, the IRG Astros fought valiantly but struggled to match the Blazers’ efficiency and depth, particularly in the crucial moments.

This victory for the Sol Blazers is a crowning achievement, reinforcing their legacy as a powerhouse in the league. Their ability to perform under pressure and rise to the occasion in crucial games has been a hallmark of their success. As they lift their eleventh title, the Blazers not only celebrate their victory today but also affirm their enduring excellence and dominance in the sport. This championship game was not just a win but a celebration of skill, strategy, and the spirit of basketball at its best.

WATCH THE GAME HERE!

Lions Overpower U17

In this competitive National Men’s League basketball game, both teams showcased their talents and potential, but it was the balanced team effort and standout individual performances that highlighted the match. Let’s delve into the top two performers from each team.

U17 Team Analysis

  • George Brooks: Brooks was a significant contributor for the U17 team, scoring 11 points with a solid 50% shooting from the field (4 of 8). His performance was notable for its efficiency, as he also excelled at the free-throw line, making all three of his attempts. Brooks contributed beyond scoring, with 2 rebounds and 3 steals. His ability to generate steals and score efficiently was crucial for his team.
  • Griffin Macdonald: Tied for the team-high in points with Brooks, Macdonald also put up 11 points, showcasing an impressive 75% shooting efficiency from inside the arc (3 of 4). Although he struggled from beyond the arc in this particular game, his overall contribution included making both of his free throws, grabbing a rebound, and providing an assist. Macdonald’s versatility was evident in his ability to score from different areas on the court.

Lions Team Analysis

  • Jerome Narcisse: Narcisse led the Lions with a game-high 20 points, displaying remarkable efficiency by shooting 69.2% from the field (9 of 13). He was also effective from the free-throw line, making 2 of his 3 attempts. Beyond his scoring, Narcisse contributed 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals, making him a pivotal player in the Lions’ victory by impacting the game on both ends of the floor.
  • Kevin Maxwell: Maxwell was another key player for the Lions, contributing 5 points and leading the game in rebounds with 10 (6 defensive, 4 offensive), showcasing his dominance on the glass. His ability to secure rebounds provided his team with additional possessions and limited the U17 team’s second-chance opportunities. Additionally, Maxwell’s 3 assists and 2 blocks highlighted his all-around game and ability to contribute in multiple facets.

Game Summary

The Lions outperformed the U17 team with a more efficient shooting night, evident in their 47.6% shooting from the field compared to the U17 team’s 39.5%. The Lions also had a significant advantage in rebounds (46 to 21), which played a crucial role in their victory by controlling the boards and generating additional scoring opportunities.

The game was closely contested in terms of turnovers, with both teams giving up the ball 18 times. This aspect of the game indicates a high-intensity defensive effort from both sides, although the Lions were able to capitalize more effectively on these opportunities.

The standout performers, Brooks and Macdonald from the U17 team, and Narcisse and Maxwell from the Lions, showcased their individual talents and potential. Narcisse’s scoring ability and Maxwell’s rebounding and defensive presence were particularly impactful, driving the Lions to secure the win. The U17 team showed promise and competitiveness, highlighted by Brooks’s scoring and Macdonald’s shooting efficiency, but ultimately, the Lions’ balanced team effort and superior execution led them to victory.

Blazers Seal the deal in Epic Thriller

The Sol Blazers vs Burger King Warriors will go down as one of the greatest games in history. After a fairly easy victory in Game 1 over the Warriors, The Sol Blazers found themselves in unfamiliar territory. Down by 10 points in the fourth quarter with 5 minutes to go.

The Warriors made two key adjustments: limit offensive rebounds and transition baskets by the Blazers. Jerome Narcisse decided to take on the responsibility of slowing down the league’s leading scorer Samuel O’Garro who scored 42 points in Game 1. Their plan worked! From the onset of the game, it was obvious that the Blazers would not get out to a major lead early; and with Warriors Center Javann Webb back in the mix, there would be no easy baskets at the rim for the Blazers. Webb also commanded alot of attention on the offensive end with this 6’4, 260 pound frame. But when Webb fouled out with 5 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, the trouble began for the Warriors who were trying to cling to a 10 point lead. The Blazers slowly began to chip away at the lead until Justin Golob hit a clutch 3 pointer to put the Blazers ahead by 1 with 16 seconds to go. The Warriors quickly pushed the ball down the court and found the man with the Hot Hand – Ebanks, who shifted through the defense and threw up a running left handed layup to put the team back ahead by 1 point.

The Blazers called a timeout in order to draw up a play and advance the ball. With only 5 seconds to go, the Blazers would inbound the ball and find their leading scorer, O’Garro, who threw up a 3 pointer that went in off the backboard to put the Blazers up by 2 with only 0.5 seconds to go. A technical foul was assessed to the Blazers who began celebrating a bit too early by storming the court before the game was finished. Ebanks would hit the free throw to bring the game to within 1 point, but with no time outs remaining, the Warriors were left with no time to draw up a play and had to inbound the ball from their baseline. After throwing the ball as high as possible, Shaad O’Garro would get to the ball before anyone else could to seal the game and re-establish the Blazers as the #1 team in Cayman Basketball.

Juawon Ebanks led the charge for the Warriors with 31 points including 5 three-pointers. Kwei General added 19 points and 7 rebounds while Stephan Cotterell added 15 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.

Samuel O’Garro led the team with 35 points and 11 rebounds, while his brother Shaad O’Garro came up with a monster 29 point, 11 rebound and 6 block performance. Just Golob also had a fantastic game with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.

Final Score: 100-99 in favor of the Blazers.

Samuel O’Garro walked away with MVP honours, averaging 37 points, and 9 rebounds per game in the finals.

Plantito Close out the Heat for Historic Win

Basketball fans were able to witness some of the most incredible basketball in the past year. In game two of the Princess Jewellers division two national basketball league championship series, Plantito took on the Cayman finance heat. The game got off to a blistering start and Plantito had blood in their eyes. With Curtis Wilson of the Heat being out for game two, there was no mercy being shown! Plantito wore the heat down by excellent, rapid ball movement; stretching the Heat defense and wearing their opponents out as much as possible before attacking the basket.  

Plantito was able to have well distributed scoring, as 4 of their 5 starters ended up in double figures. For the Heat, Nick Berardi picked up the slack by pouring in 40 points while teammate Jeremy Varlow added 15 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.  

But the night belonged to Plantito with a packed house of their fans that would not be left disappointed! 

Plantito would extend their lead in the second half and never looked back. Christian Corpus led the charge with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals while Jeonell Ramos added 16 points. Free throw hurt the Heat as they shot 48% from the stripe as a team and only 25% from the 3-point line which is where they make their living. Plantito shot 67% from the line and 42% from long range.  

Plantito has now made history with this victory as the first Philippine team to win a national title in Division 1 or 2. Christian Corpus was the finals MVP averaging over 26 points per game. He was awarded an Invicta Time Piece from the Series Sponsor: Princess Jewellers.  

Plantito has their eyes on Historic Championship

The Plantito team is setting out to do what no Philippine team has done before: win a title in a Division 1 or 2 National Men’s League. This team has an amazing style of play; great ball movement, great coaching, strategy and good skill. They overcame the top-seeded Cayman Finance heat in last night’s game 75-67.

For Plantito: Christian Corpus led the team with 26 points and 8 rebounds, while teammate Jeonell Ramos added 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Prisfel Cruz also added 12 points and 7 rebounds.

For the Heat, Curtis Wilson led the charge with 25 points and 24 rebounds while teammate Nick Berardi added 23 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.

Its win or go home for the Heat this coming Sunday at the ARC: 6:00 pm.

Blazers and Warriors face off for the Crown

It seemed as though it was scripted for a movie: The 2-time defending champions, the Burger King Warriors, who are the only undefeated team this year, face off against the 2nd Seeded Sol Blazers who are eager for revenge.

In their last 4 meetings there is a 2-2 split. The Warriors blew out the Blazers by 20 in their meeting this season; however, the Blazers’ top scorer Samuel O’Garro did not play that game. This game features two players that played Professional in Europe: Samuel O’Garro, who leads the league in scoring and also posted a season and career high 61 points in a single game this season. However, O’Garro doesn’t only get it done on the offensive end, he also leads the league in Steals, is the top rebounder for his team and also is 2nd in assists for his team. For the Warriors, Jerome Narcisse also played in Europe and is the league’s most efficient player. Narcisse has the highest field goal percentage of any players that have played at least 4 games (63.8%) and leads his team in scoring, assists and rebounds. These are two very complete players.

The blazers have a big 3 – Samuel and Shaad O’Garro and Justin Golob, who are the main ingredients responsible for the Blazers “bounce back” season. Shaad O’Garro is a defensive menace and leads the league in Blocks while Golob is also a very good scorer and can also create opportunities for his teammates.

The Warriors also have a big 3; along with Narcisse is Juawon Ebanks, a fiery, lightning fast shooting guard who can heat up very quickly. Ebanks put alot of pressure on defenses because of his ability to penetrate gaps in the defense. Along with the knock-down long range shooter Kwei General. General is one of the top three, long-range shooters in the league but also another good all-round player. General is the 2nd leading scorer for the Warriors with 21 points per game.

The action begins on Sunday May 21st at the ARC at 7:45 pm. Before this game is the Division 1 Finals Game 1 between Plantito and the Cayman Finance Heat. Both Championships are presented by Princess Jewellers.

Bullets and Astros Must Win or Go Home

We are all familiar with the term “Win or go Home”. It’s a situation where a team finds themselves facing elimination in a playoff series and if they do not win, they will be eliminated. Some also use the term “gone fishing” to refer to the team that loses; either way, no one wants to be that team.

This is unfortunately the situation that two of the top 4 Division 1 teams face right now. The Silver Bullets have had a pretty rough season but have gotten a nice shot in the arm with the return of Lance Welcome for the latter portion of the season. However, they were not able to defeat the 2-time defending champions, the Burger King Warriors. In their first meeting, the Warriors outscored the Bullets 95-79. As a team, the Warriors shot over 53% from 3-point range while the Bullets shot only 36% from the same distance. Rebounding was also a major factor; the Warriors outrebounded the Bullets 29-11. There is no way the Bullets can win if they can’t shrink that rebounding gap.

Jerome Narcisse led all players with 36 points and 4 rebounds while teammate Kwei General added 22 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks including a red hot 66% from 3 point range.

For the Bullets, Peter Grant led the way with 27 points while Lance Welcome poured in 26.

Game 2 takes place Sunday May 7th at 6:15 pm at the ARC.

In the second game, the IRG Astros need to win against their nemeses the Sol Blazers. In their previous meeting, the Blazers shot 40% from the 3-point line vs 28% outside shooting from the Astros. The Blazers also had a slight rebounding edge over the Astros: 43-37. But to summarize, this is a dream matchup for any basketball fan to watch. The Astros have some additional pieces that have made them even stronger such as Deandre Simpson to go along with the established veterans of Jake Whittaker, Davie Cotterell and Bryce Thompson. This game features the two top scorers of the league and a physical composition of basketball beasts that you have to see to believe! Their first meeting ended in an 81-79 finish which went down to the final play of the game. Fans can’t wait to see how game 2 of this series turns out.

Samuel O’Garro led all scorers with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists while teammate Justin Golob added 14 points and 12 rebounds. For IRG, Davi Cotterell led the way with 28 points while teammates Deandre Simpson and Jake Whittaker added 14 and 13 points apiece.

Game 2 of this series takes place on Sunday May 7th at 7:45 pm at the ARC.

O’Garro Erupts for 61 Points

It seemed like a typical night; clear skies, wonderful tropical weather, a beautiful gymnasium and some usual good basketball action. But fans did not expect to see Samuel O’Garro put on the offensive showcase of the season. With a few players on the injured list, O’Garro knew that he would have to turn up the heat and Fuel his team to victory!

Not only did he do that, but he posted his new personal scoring best of not 40, not 50, but 61 points! O’Garro was just 3 points away from tying the national scoring record, held by Collin Anglin (64 points) that was posted in 2007 against the Blazers.

O’Garro scored more than 66% of his team’s total points and also had the second most rebounds, getting it done on both ends of the floor. Omar Clarke finished with 4 points and 19 rebounds.

For the Bullets, Jaheim White and Samuel Webb led the way with 18 and 16 points a piece. The Bullets had 4 players in double figures, but their inexperience got the better of them vs the veteran Blazer team. Final Score: Sol – 91, Silver Bullets B – 70.

The Bullets were also out-rebounded 61-30 and struggled from the free throw line, shooting just above 50% on the night.

Astros and Blazers Face Off

On March 9th, our featured game will see the IRG Astros take on the Sol Blazers at the Arts and Recreation Center at 8:15 pm.

In their 4 previous encounters, both teams have split wins and losses at 2-2, so this game will put the winning team ahead in their series. For this season, the Sol Blazers have already suffered 2 losses while the Astros are undefeated. The Astros recently acquired Deandre Simpson from the Warriors and this has proven to be quite an addition for them. Simpson was part of the 2 Straight championships with the Warriors and brings mental toughness, defensive prowess and great rebounding.

View the head to head match up here.

The Blazers have their own big time additions, Samuel O’Garro is back from a 2 year hiatus and has come back with a vengeance, averaging nearly 38 points per game thus far. It is sure to be a major matchup! Don’t miss it!