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Cayman’s Women Look to Return to Island Games Podium

Cayman’s National Basketball Women Hope To Repeat History At The 2019 Island Games!

The Cayman Islands National Women’s Basketball team is no stranger to hardware at the NATWEST Island Games!

The very first three years of the Cayman women competing at the Island Games was a huge success with the women winning 3 medals under the guidance of the Technical Director for Cayman Islands Basketball Association and then Head Coach Victor “Voot” O’Garro.

The Cayman Islands made an enormous impression when they won Gold in the Isle of Man for their very first tournament appearance in 2001; Bronze in Guernsey 2003 and Gold in Shetland Isles/Gibraltar 2005.

But it would be 2007 Rhodes, Greece where Cayman placed 8th that would put a damper on the women competing at the prestigious games going forward. The women did not compete in 2009 through 2013, but would try their hearts at it once again at the all too familiar tournament held in Jersey, Island the year of 2015 where Cayman placed 5th. In 2017 in Gotland, Sweden, the women would get close to the podium as they faced Guernsey for the Bronze medal match. Guernsey however, proved too experienced for the young Cayman squad and took away the triplet island’s only chances of bringing home hardware.

President of the Cayman Islands Basketball Association Mr. Richard Parchment said, “This Cayman National Women’s team has history to repeat as medal contenders. Watching their men counterpart in 2017 finally pull off what they have done twice in the past has reignited this team, so July in Gibraltar should be an exciting time for Cayman basketball.”

The Technical Director for Basketball Coach Victor “Voot” O’Garro said, the women’s team is in a rebuilding stage but he knows that they’ll get there soon. “Our women are in preparation right now to regain their rightful place on the podium. They have not been on that podium since 2005. However, last year the team placed 4th just missing medal contention. We look forward to the ladies doing an extremely good job this year in Gibraltar.”

This year 2019, the National women’s team consists of Courtisha Ebanks, Hannah Parchment, Scimone Campbell, Khailan O’Connor, Michal Segal, Dionne Anglin, Yolanni Manzanares, Alicia Turner, Melissa Bridgemohan, Stacy-Ann Kelly, Chloe Powery-Doxey and Neandra Forbes.

The 2019 Women’s Coaches are Wendy Manzanares and Cory McGee. The team’s Manager is Melissa Smith.

Coach Wendy Manzanares is very excited to see things coming together with the women’s team as preparation continues. She said, “The last time the women’s team was on the podium at the Island Games was 2005 with Gold. We did not compete in 2009, 2011 or 2013 and in 2017 we placed 4th so now our team is at a stage of rebuilding and is expecting to regain our place on the podium in the near future. The journey is the most important thing and we are definitely aiming to leave a mark.”

Background info on tournament

The NatWest Island Games is held every two years and is an international multi-sports event with Competitor teams representing different island communities with no more than 150,000 people….A mini-Olympics if you must. The 18th annual games will be held in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar between July 6th and 12th 2019.

-Controversially, the games will not include cycling, football, or Indoor Volleyball which have been in all previous games since 1985, due to the lack of venues, instead replaced by tenpin bowling, judo, and squash.

Cayman Looks To Defend Island Games Gold Medal

Cayman Prepares To Defend Island Games “GOLD” Championship Title!

The Cayman Islands National Men’s Basketball team will head to Gibraltar to defend their NATWEST Island Games Championship title.

Two years ago, the Cayman squad defeated Gibraltar in a nail-biting final in Gotland that saw Cayman hoist the GOLD trophy for the very first time.

At the 2017 Games, Cayman lost to Gibraltar in the opening competition but would win every game thereafter, leading them to the final match where they would get a second chance to redeem themselves against the 2019 hosts.

Cayman Islands Basketball is no stranger to the Island Games and medal board. The triplet island nation has been competing in the multi-sports tournament for twenty years, under the guidance of the Technical Director for Cayman Basketball and then Head Coach Victor “Voot” O’Garro.

Cayman Men’s Basketball team’s first Island Games experience would be in 1999 where they came away with their first Silver from Gotland, Sweden. But it wouldn’t be their last, in 2001 the Cayman men would take Silver again in Isle of Man; in 2003 the team would once again take Silver in Guernsey and their last Silver medal would be in Gibraltar in 2005.

But for the next five Island Games, the once dominant Cayman squad would not medal. In 2007 Cayman would place 4th in Rhodes Greece; 5th in Aland in 2009; 4th in Isle of Wight in 2011; but did not compete in Bermuda 2013 nor Jersey Island in 2015.

However, ten years after their last medal appearance, Cayman would create history for men’s basketball bringing home their first Gold medal with Coach Edwin Pellot-Rosa at the helm and Coach Duran “Trini” Whittaker as his Assistant Coach.

The National Men’s Head Coach Ed Pellot-Rosa said it has been a great challenge to sharpen the team’s fundamentals and focus.

He said, “They’ve been working on understanding and trusting our natural athletic ability and challenging ourselves to expand our mental capacity and understanding of the game of basketball.”

Coach Ed said, that twenty years seemed like a long and hard journey to travel for Cayman’s first Gold Medal in 2017. But he stated, “that in 2017 a seed was planted and it will be vital that we continue watering that seed as we strive to complete our mission of building and sustaining a winning culture.” He said, “For the 2019 Island Games, the focus will be to continue to build on our confidence and developing a dominant attitude.”

The Technical Director for Basketball Coach Victor “Voot” O’Garro said, “As defending champions, Cayman is expected to perform at a high level despite some changes to the lineup.

“The team this year consists of new faces. Our veterans are there and they are expected to have a great performance as usual. Based on our training schedule, I am confident that we will be on the podium. However, we know that there are top countries coming to face us so we are prepared for
whatever comes our way. I think this is a wonderful tournament as we have been to Gibraltar before where we secured the silver medal and this year we are hoping to come back to Cayman with yet another Gold.”

President of the Cayman Islands Basketball Association, Mr. Richard Parchment said, “After winning the silver medal 4 times, and always feeling the challenge of going back to get that additional win, it feels great to know that the Cayman Islands is the defending Gold Medalist and we are fielding a very strong and capable team to maintain this honor.” Mr. Parchment said, “Government continues to be a major contributor to sports development in these islands and this team is a prime example of this vision as most of the players on the team came from our early development leagues and programs.”

The 2019 Cayman Islands National Men’s team consists of: Samuel O’Garro, De’Andre Simpson, Davion Cotterell, Jake Whittaker; Shaad O’Garro, Arin Taylor; NiiAKwei General-Vanderpouije, along with newcomers Philip Webb, Tikko Moore, Juawon Ebanks, Joshua O’Garro and Kai Robinson-Allard. The 2019 team’s Manager is Angela O’Garro.

All twelve men were selected with a purpose and Coach Ed believes that this Cayman team can go beyond an Island Games Gold medal.

“My message to the team is to seize the opportunity at hand, confidently show Cayman and the Caribbean region that we are prepared to compete for a qualifying spot at future Olympic Games, and ultimately play the game for something greater than self. Understand the responsibility of being a role model and Gold Medalist, as the youth are observing and are eager to continue building on the blocks that were laid in 2017. We desire to be known by the fruit we bear.”

Photo is of 2017 Gold medal team

KPMG Under 14 Boys League Semi Finals Coming Up

The KPMG Inter-school Boys League is heating up as the top four teams advance after quarter-final action this past Monday. Here were the results :

QUARTERFINALS
Round Date Time Court Game Home Score Away Score Location
1 19-Feb 3:30 1 13 Cayman Prep 25 St Ignatius 24 John Gray Gymnasium
1 19-Feb 4:30 1 14 Marlin Academy 29 Wahoo Academy 31 John Gray Gymnasium
2 19-Feb 3:30 2 15 Clifton Hunter HS 42 Tarpon Academy 8 John Gray Gymnasium
2 19-Feb 4:30 2 16 Dolphin Academy 31 C.I.S. 17 John Gray Gymnasium

Here is the lineup for this coming Monday’s Semi Finals (Games 17 & 18) as well as consolation games (games 19-20): Winners of games 17 and 18 advance to championship match. 

SEMI-FINALS
Round Date Time Court Game Home Score Away Score Location
1 26-Feb 3:30 1 17 Cayman Prep Dolphin Academy John Gray Gymnasium
1 26-Feb 4:30 2 18 Wahoo Academy Clifton Hunter HS John Gray Gymnasium
1 26-Feb 3:30 1 19 St Ignatius C.I.S. John Gray Gymnasium
1 26-Feb 4:30 2 20 Marlin Academy Tarpon Academy John Gray Gymnasium
Island Games 2017 Schedule

Follow our Cayman National Men’s and Women’s teams as they chase medals at this year’s Nat West Islands Games in Gotland.

Coach Duran Whittaker, Arin Taylor and Juawon Ebanks

Men’s League Schedule: http://islandgames2017results.com/schedule.aspx?SportID=4&EventID=79

Women’s League Schedule: http://islandgames2017results.com/schedule.aspx?SportID=4&EventID=80

Men’s Group Standings (GROUP C): http://islandgames2017results.com/Sports/BASKETBALL/default.aspx?SportID=4&EventID=79

Women’s Group Standings (GROUP A): http://islandgames2017results.com/Sports/BASKETBALL/default.aspx?SportID=4&EventID=80

National Men’s Team on the Ferry to Gotland

National Women’s Team at the game venue

Blazers Repeat…Again!

It was the best Division 1 Final Series in years! Read the Full Story on Cayman Sports Buzz! http://www.caymansportsbuzz.com/sol-blazers-win-back-to-back-titles/

Lady Heels 3-Peat!

Read the Full Story at Cayman Sports Buzz! http://www.caymansportsbuzz.com/three-straight-titles-for-lady-warriors/ 

Fearless Win Under 16 Girls Championship

Everyone loves it when the game goes down to the wire! That’s exactly what happened when the Women of Valor Fearless took met their counterparts, Women of Valor Courage in the finals of the PwC under 16 Girls League title match.  

These young ladies were anything but lady-like when the jump ball took place, making it clear they were all about business and could save the pleasantries until after the final whistle.  The game saw several lead changes and it was unclear as to who was walking away with the crown.  Latoya Brown of the WoV Courage dominated the paint, blocking almost anything that came near her and intimidating her opponents.  Lyandrea Watson was all over the court and all over the stat sheet, doing whatever was required to get her team to victory, scoring, rebounding and also snatching the ball away whenever it came in her vicinity.

But it was the the day when Fearlessness would prove more valiant that Courage as Shante Reid and Zaria Ebanks combined for 25 of their team’s 33 points and led their team to a 1 point victory in the dying seconds of the game! Ebanks and Reid were also most dominant for their teams on the boards, combing for 18 rebounds.   

Final Score: WV Fearless 33 points vs WV Courage 32 points
Winners – Fearless – Zaria Ebanks – 13 PTS, 12 REBS, 1 ST
                                 Shante Reid – 12 PTS, 6 REBS, 3 AS, 5 STS
Losing Team – WV Courage – Latoya Brown – 12 PTS, 11 REBS, 1 ST, 5 BLS
                                                 Lyandrea Watson – 9 PTS, 7 REBS, 2 AS, 6 STS, 1
FINALS MVP – Zaria Ebanks – WV Fearless
Photo Credit: Wil Bignal Photography
Warriors take PwC U-16 Title

Fans could not have asked for a better final.  The two top teams of the highly contested PwC under 16 Boys league – Warriors and Heat – faced off for the 2017 bragging rights.  Both teams came out with a lightning fast pace! Attacking the basket with reckless abandon and playing “in your face” defense.  It was obvious that no team was intimidated by the other and both were hungry for the title. 

The Warriors decided to focus on Heat leader Ian MacRae, limiting his touches and making every basket difficult and highly contested. But his teammates Jabari Walrond and Lauren Brown stepped up to the challenge to carry the team.

The Heat decided to focus on taking Joshua O’Garro out of the picture. Although O’Garro was still scoring, he got into foul trouble early, which forced his Coach John Ebanks to sit him practically the entire 3rd quarter. While O’Garro was on the bench, Joanki Espinar and Shay Lalor rose to the challenge offensively. 

In the end, the Warriors were able to come up with some key defensive stops that allowed them to create a cushion in the final two minutes of the game to seal the championship! 

Warriors – 58 points vs Heat 49 points

Winners – Warriors – Joshua O’Garro – 27 PTS, 8 REBS, 4 AS, 3 ST
                                  Joanki Espinar – 9 PTS, 10 REBS, 4 AS
Losing Team – Heat – Jabari Walrond – 18 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AS, 6 STS
                                    Lauren Brown – 17 PTS, 10 REBS, 2 AS
FINALS MVP – Joshua O’Garro – Warriors
YG Goes Off for 53 and a Triple Double!

Joshua O’Garro a.k.a. “YG” which apparently stands for “Young O’Garro” set a league high and national record as the youngest player to ever score 50 or more points in a men’s league.  The record came at the hands of the Western Union Division 2 men’s team on May 24th as the Juniors came out to prove a point.

The Juniors have a definite game style; high tempo, high octane!  From the start, the Juniors applied a stifling zone defense with lots of pressure on the perimeter, forcing a-lot of early turnovers early and jumping out to a 30 point lead by the end of the first half. It was clear that Western Union could not come back, but Juniors Coach Duran “Trinity” Whittaker told his team not to take their feet off the gas and to respect the game by playing the right way.  So said so done, despite awesome performances by Tereque Simpson who had 22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists; and Trevin Williamson who added 23 points and 11 rebounds, YG was the star of the night, lighting up the stat sheet shooting 9 of 13 from 3 point range, 12 of 17 from two point range, adding 10 steals, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.  YG was just 3 assists short of a quadruple double, an achievement held only by his uncle Shaad O’Garro. The 53 point game was also the league high, just edging past the Warriors’ Collin Anglin who scored 49 points earlier this season. 

Final score: 137 – 64

For Western Union: Darrell Paddyfoot led the way with 25 points and a game high 24 rebounds, unstoppable in the paint.  Teammate Daniel Quinland added 19 points in a losing effort

Happy Mother’s Day

The Cayman Islands Basketball Association would like to wish all of the mothers, and especially our basketball moms, a Happy Mother’s Day!!!