Majesty down Tivoli in Game One of Flow final

Title-hungry Majesty Legends outmuscled Tivoli Wizards, 88-83, in Game One of the Flow/National Basketball League best-of-three final at the National Stadium Courts on Thursday night.

Majesty led by as much as 21 points near the end of the third quarter and it appeared they were trying to kill the clock in the last quarter which worked, but in favour of the defending champions Tivoli.

After trailing Majesty by 14 points (76-62) with under five minutes to go, Omar Barnes put metal to pedal to close the gap, 76-68, with Anthony Farquharson pushing the score 76-70.

According to Majesty coach Ludlow Barker, the team was showing complacency at that time.

A three-pointer from Baldon Todd of Majesty and two free throws from Barnes pushed the score to 79-73.

Tivoli Wizards’ Anthony Farquharson (left) moves in to challenge Majesty Legends’ Baldon Todd during third quarter action in the Flow NBL at the Stadium Courts on Thursday night. (Photo: Jermaine Barnaby)

Majesty eventually held on for victory, with Todd finishing with a game-high 29 points and Kemar McLeish contributing 21 points and 11 rebounds.

For Tivoli, Farquharson led with 24 points and 15 assists, supported by Andrew Whilby 16 points.
The first quarter ended 19-19, before Majesty pulled away for 39-32 in the second quarter and 64-46 in the third quarter.

Majesty coach Barker said the team had been working on "some things", including rebounding and working the ball. "We matched the tempo of Tivoli and took care of business," he said.

Tivoli coach Edward Marshall, in his post-match analysis, said: "Basically we missed a lot of free throws, but big up to Majesty because they really fought. They had a big lead and it was going to be hard to catch up," said Marshall.

Game Two will take place at the National Indoor Sports Complex tomorrow at 7:00 pm, after Urban Knights and the Jamaica Defence Force battle for the third place at 5:00 pm.


Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/Majesty-down-Tivoli-in-Game-One-of-Flow-final_9119906#ixzz1R7IaLIfV

Majesty, Tivoli in NBL showdown

Kemar McLeish of Majesty Gardens (left) tries to dribble past Javon Bailey of Urban Knights during their Flow/NBL semi-final match at the National Stadium Courts on Tuesday. Majesty won, 73-68. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)

MAJESTY Gardens Legends marched into the final of the FLOW/National Basketball League (NBL) final on Tuesday after beating Urban Knights, 73-68, in Game Two of their best-of-three semi-final series at the National Stadium Courts for a 2-0 win.

Majesty will now face Tivoli Gardens Wizards in the best-of-three play-off decider, starting at the same venue tomorrow, in a repeat of last season's finale.

Majesty Gardens, with 19 points from Damion Young and 17 points and 11 rebounds from Boldon Todd, kept on top of their opponents for most of the match and came out deserved winners.

Hovando Dunn and Kemar McLeish gave good support, with Dunn posting 13 points and McLeish 12 points and five assists.

Javon Bailey was the Knights' topscorer with a game-high 20 points. His best support came from Dave Blackwood with 18 points and eight rebounds.

Winning coach Ludlow Barker said he had promised there would not be a Game Three in the series.

"This one was a lot harder to work for... as after a good first-half we got very sloppy... but we are on a mission and now we are ready for Tivoli," he said.

He said the Legends will now have to try to correct some of their errors and put their previous meeting with the defending champions in the past.

"Whatever happened in the Southern Conference is gone; this is the All-Island, the big one, and this is the one we want," he said.

Majesty started brilliantly, scoring freely to take a 28-13 lead after the end of the first quarter. They continued into the second, stretching their lead to over 20 points at one stage, and led 44-27 at half-time.

However, many who had written off the former champions watched as the Calvin Martin-coached Knights, led by former St Catherine High School star Bailey, clawed their way back into the match in the third quarter.

Bailey was in scintillating form, producing some magical moments to constantly get on the scoreboard to keep the Knights within touching distance.

Urban Knights eventually claimed the period, 18-10, to close the gap to 10 points (55-45) entering the last quarter.

But Majesty held their nerve and played intelligently to keep their opponents at bay, preserving a seven-point advantage at the end, despite losing the period, 23-18.

"Majesty Gardens came out as if they really wanted it... We dug ourselves in a hole in the first half and we weren't running our systems...," said Urban Knights' assistant coach Kevin Alexander.

Meanwhile, Tivoli's coach Ted Marshall anticipates a competitive final from their arch-rivals, but believes his team is stronger defensively.


Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/Majesty--Tivoli-in-NBL-showdown_9097782#ixzz1R7LIiyHk

Rain leaves NBL west in limbo

Almost three weeks after Catherine Hall All Stars took a 1-0 win against Granville Jaguars in the Best-of-Three finals in the 2011 Western Conference FLOW National Basketball League (NBL), the team has not been able to see any further action on account of the persistent rainfall that has been lashing western Jamaica.

"This competition should have been completed close to two weeks ago, but the rains have washed out all our scheduled playing days," said Western Basketball Association (WBA) vice-president Deon Williams, the competition's coordinator. "As things are, we are not setting any new dates until there is a break in the weather."

Catherine Hall dominant

In the much-anticipated Game One, the Catherine Hall team was quite dominant, winning three of the four quarters in a performance, which would seem to suggest that they might be quite tough to beat in the race for the coveted title, which is symbolic of western basketball supremacy.

In the first quarter, Jaguars started out well, but once the Catherine Hall team settled, they took control and were clearly in charge at the end of the quarter, which they led 17-14. It was more Catherine Hall dominance in the second quarter, which they won 13-8 for a comfortable 30-22 half-time lead.

In the third quarter, the Jaguars team finally came to grips with the situation and looked quite ominous taking the quarter quite impressively by a 17-7 margin to level the score at 37-37 going into the final quarter.

In the deciding final quarter, Jaguars seemed jaded by their third-quarter effort and struggled to match a rejuvenated Catherine Hall in the push for victory. In fact, Catherine Hall were cruising in the end as they took the quarter 23-14 for their 60-53 win.

Kurt Dorman, with 15 points and 15 rebounds; Goyan Malcolm, with 15 points and 12 rebounds; and Marvin Powell, with 12 points and five rebounds, were the dominant players for Catherine Hall. Leroy Lawrence, with 15 points and 10 rebounds; and Huwayne Blake, 14 points and 10 rebounds, replied for Jaguars.

"The level of interest going into the play-offs was quite high and I am just hoping that the momentum will not be lost because of the rain break," said Williams. "It has been an excellent season and we want it to end on a high."

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110608/sports/sports91.html

All-stars face Jaguars in Game Two of Flow final

Granville Jaguars’ Ryan Harrison (left) drives past Catherine Hall’s Jermaine Rerrie last Tuesday’s first game of the best-of-three Flow NBL-west finals at the Montego Bay Cricket Club. Catherine Hall won 60-53. (Photo: Paul Reid)

Catherine Hall All-stars will this evening seek to wrap up the Flow National Basketball League-West title when they take a one-nil lead into Game Two of their best-of-three final against Granville Jaguars at the Montego Bay Cricket club, starting at 7:00 pm.

Catherine Hall won last week's first game of the rain-affected series 60-53 and a win tonight would give them their first title since the 2008 Western Conference's Men's Basketball Championships.

Granville Jaguars were the regular season winners however, and are expected to put up a serious challenge today as they seek to maintain their hopes of staying in the race for top honours.

Despite losing twice to Catherine Hall, Jaguars have the firepower to win on any given day and will be led by Huwayne Blake, Dave Black, Leroy Lawrence and Ivaughn Lee.

In Game One, despite an uneven start, Catherine Hall managed to get in gear with three players Goyan Malcolm, Kurt Dorman and Marvin Powell all scoring in double figures with Jermaine Rerrie hauling down 27 rebounds.

Catherine Hall will also have the edge on defence with big men Dorman and Rerrie having the advantage over Lawrence, Ryan Harrison and Blake.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/All-stars-face-Jaguars-in-Game-Two-of-Flow-final_8975490#ixzz1P894mPH0

Western teams gear for Flow NBL Play-offs

Goyan Malcolm of Catherine Hall All-Stars (right) tries to get by Granville Jaguars’ Otis Foster in Tuesday’s first game of the best-of-three Flow NBL-west finals at the Montego Bay Cricket Club. Malcolm scored 15 points as Catherine Hall won the game 60-53 to take the lead. (Photo: Paul Reid)

The poor weather that has affected western Jamaica over the past two weeks has played havoc with the finals of the Flow NBL-west series as organisers have managed to get in just one game of the best-of-three series.

Catherine Hall beat title favourites Granville Jaguars, 60-53, at the Montego Bay Cricket Club on Tuesday to take a 1-0 lead in the series and after two postponements later in the week, Game Two is tentatively set for tomorrow at the same venue.

Meanwhile, both western teams were to have started their quest for honours in the National Play-offs with games at the Montego Bay Cricket Club this afternoon, but those matches were called off due to a flash flood warning sent out by the Met Office.

In Tuesday's game on a surface that was slick after an earlier shower, Catherine Hall, who beat Granville twice this season, dominated the game, out-hustling their rivals for a big win.

Catherine Hall led 17-14 and 30-22 after the first two quarters before Jaguars came back to lead, 39-37, at the end of the third quarter, but had no answer to All-Stars who outscored them 23-14 in the final period.

Led by 15 points each by Goyan Malcolm and Kurt Dorman, All-stars got off to a good start and were up 12-4 before Granville responded with a 13-0 run of their own from the end of the first into the second quarter.

A late rally by All-Stars, outscoring Granville 8-2 in just over two minutes midway the fourth quarter, separated the teams.

Malcolm had 12 rebounds and eight assists to go with his 15 points, while Dorman had 15 rebounds.

Marvin Powell scored 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while Jermaine Rerrie scored nine points and had 27 rebounds.

Leroy Lawrence scored 15 points for Granville, along with 10 rebounds, while Huwayne Blake scored 14 points and 10 rebounds.


Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/Western-teams-gear-for-Flow-NBL-Play-offs_8965134#ixzz1P7v4jNmT

JBA president hopeful for western teams in playoffs

June 2, 2011

Douglas Powell (left) of Granville Jaguars passes the ball before Catherine Hall's Marvin Powell can get to it in Tuesday's first game of the best-of-three Flow NBL-West finals at the Montego Bay Cricket Club. Catherine Hall won the game 60- 53 to take the lead. (Photo: Paul Reid)

PRESIDENT of the Jamaica Basketball Association Ajani Williams is hoping one of two western representatives from the Flow National Basketball League will pull off an upset and advance past the first round of the national play-offs which start this weekend.

On a recent stop in Montego Bay, Williams, who was recently re-elected, noted improvements in the quality of basketball in western Jamaica.

Granville Jaguars and Catherine Hall All-Stars who will represent western Jamaica in the 16-team play-offs, finally started the best of three finals on Tuesday after two postponements due to rain last week.

Catherine Hall, having won two of three games against Granville in the regular season, pulled off an upset against Jaguars with a 60-53 win in Game One at the Montego Bay Cricket Club with the second game set for last night at the same venue.

If necessary, Game Three would be played tomorrow night at the same venue.

On Tuesday, Goyan Malcolm and Kurt Dorman both scored 15 points to lead Catherine Hall, Marvin Powell scored 12 points while Jermaine Rerrie scored nine points and had 27 rebounds.

Leroy Lawrence was the top scorer for Granville with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Huwayne Blake scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/westernnews/JBA-president-hopeful-for-western-teams-in-playoffs_8942568#ixzz1P7ttuf6N

Wizards celebrate win over Legends

May 31, 2011

This 2009 file photo shows Tivoli Gardens Wizards' Omar Barnes (centre) dousing a member of their management team with champagne, as they celebrated their 85-72 victory over Majesty Gardens. The scenes were no different when the Wizards again beat Majesty in Game Two of the finals, to close out the series on Saturday night.

Members of the Tivoli Wizards basketball team are celebrating their victory over Majesty Legends, following their victory in Game Two of the Flow National Basketball League Southern Conference Championship final, on Saturday night at the National Stadium courts.

The Wizards defeated the Legends 67-62 to take the best-of-three series 2-0, securing their third consecutive hold on the title.

"We are very happy for this victory because we had to play really hard to achieve it," said Omar Barnes, a senior member of the Wizards team.

"We really wanted to ensure that we retain the title because this will be a big morale boost for us going into the all-island play-off competition," Barnes added.

Andrew Whilby, another senior member of the Wizards' team, was also very happy with his side's victory.

"We are feeling very great to know that we have won this title again," said Whilby.

"My team played really well to win it and so now we are just celebrating and enjoying ourselves," Whilby added.

The Wizards, who led 37-32 at half-time, romped to their victory courtesy of centre Whilby's team-high 16 points and seven rebounds.

The Wizards were outscored 17-15 by the Legends in the third quarter, but they hung on to hold a 52-49 lead at the end of the period.

Whilby received solid support from Barnes (15 points and four assists), Anthony Farquharson (14 points and eight rebounds) and Kirk Ferguson (12 points and eight rebounds).

"We are very happy to know that we have defended our title against one of the top teams in this competition," said Edward 'Ted' Marshall, coach of the Wizards.

"I think that this victory will help our confidence as we look forward to defending our all-island title," Marshall added.

National representative Kemar McLeish was the top scorer for the Legends with a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds. McLeish got good support from captain Baldon Todd (18) and Havando Dunn (12).

"We are very disappointed because we didn't execute our game plan the way we should have done. We allowed them to get too many offensive rebounds and that was one of our main downfalls in this series," said Todd.

"I also thought that we didn't capitalise on their mistakes because every time we cut the lead we allowed them to get back into the game," Todd added.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110531/sports/sports7.html