Flow Champion Cup Moves to Exciting Quarter Final Rounds

Round two of the Flow Champion Cup’s stellar run, culminated in a rousing show of talent in the matches held between March 23 and March 24.  The result was a demonstration of some of the season's most breathtaking ball playing with the total goals scored during this round at 24 goals. This brings the total goals for the season to 48 so far.

Defending champions Boys Town had to come from behind to book their place in the quarter finals of the Flow Champions Cup following a 4-3 penalty kick win over last year’s beaten finalist Humble Lion at Collie
Smith Drive.

Boys Town entered the second round firm favorites to advance, however they were behind the eight ball in playing against Humble Lion, who took the lead through Denzil Watson in the 44th minute. It took a last minute penalty by Captain Michael Campbell for Boys Town to send the game into extra time, and then into a penalty kick-off.

Despite captain Michael Campbell missing his penalty kick, Boys Town’s Kirk Porter, Renae Lloyd, Damian Benjamin and O’Neil Thompson scored theirs, as the home team came away 4-3 winners after Kirk Duckworth and Julian Nugent missed for Humble Lion.

With matches like these, Flow has high expectations for the 2010-2011 season, as Denise Williams, PR Manager at Flow remarked, “We have seen both teams and individual player make amazing strides, we expect to see an increase in spectators and local support throughout the rest of the season, and will continue to appreciate the public support of this ground breaking league.”

Williams was also pleased the goals continue to pile in for the Tournament’s support of the YUTE programme, the charity event for the League this year.  “With another 24 goals the financial support for young people through the YUTE programme is definitely piling up. We expect a hefty contribution to the cause at the end of the tournament.”  The Youth Upliftment Through Education (YUTE) programme is a new initiative by the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) that focuses on at risk, inner city youth.   The programme was developed in response to the sustained levels of violence and crime within the inner-city communities, as well as the limited opportunities for growth for young people in these areas.  The PSOJ in association with many private sector organizations decided to launch YUTE — a two-and-a-half-year programme for inner-city renewal

In other games played on Wednesday’s first set of second round games, Arnett Gardens, through goals from Kirk Ramsey and Vanado Manning, ousted Downs FC 2-0, Frazsiers Whip out of St Catherine took care of Monymusk 2-0 while St Georges Sports Club went to Drewsland and beat host Waterhouse 4-1 on penalties, after the teams had played to a 2-2 draw in full and extra time.

Thursday’s round two action saw Premier League power house Tivoli Gardens getting by Harbour View 3-1 on penalties at the Compound, after the teams were locked at 1-1 in full and extra time.

Surprise team Santos out of Kingston and St Andrew upset a second Premier league team, this time it was Benfica of St Ann who went down 3-1 courtesy of a double strike from Demetrio Billett.

Perennial contenders Portmore United sent Sporting Central Academy packing following a 4-2 drubbing. Steven Morrissey and Ricardo Cousins scored twice.

Meanwhile Sandals Whitehouse from Westmorland had their dream of participating in the competition extended when they tagged Mount Pelier 2-0 at Frome.

Williams was deeply impressed with the skill level shown on the field and congratulated the qualifying teams on their achievements, saying “Flow is exceptionally proud of all the teams who have participated. We are particularly pleased that the FCC players and communities have chosen to use football as a vehicle for the advancement of Jamaica’s youth. Flow is excited to see the players bring their A-game to the next round, and we anticipate that the players and the local community will be well rewarded.”

Flow has committed to rewarding top achiever, with MVPs receiving loaded computers in previous rounds. Second round FCC teams compete for cash awards, including JM$1million to go to the top ranking team, JM $50,000 each for the Top Goal scorer and Winning coach, and JM$70,000 for the overall MVP.

Advancing teams Whitehouse, Portmore United, Tivoli and Santos will join Arnett Gardens, Boys Town, Frazsiers Whip and St Georges in the Quarter final which will see the draw taking place on Monday, March 28 at the JFF office.

The Quarter final match dates are set for Wednesday, April 6 & Thursday April 7, 2011.

Knights, Tivoli in Flow/NBL face-off

LEADERS Urban Knights and defending champions Tivoli Wizards will square off tonight at 7:00 at the University of Technology in the most-anticipated clash of the Southern Conference in the Flow/National Basketball League.

These two teams are widely expected to meet in the National Finals beginning on May 19, and the UTech Sundays showpiece, a family entertainment spectacle, will provide the best environment for bragging rights for fans of the Knights or the Wizards.

As of Friday, Knights have a nominal lead in the Southern Conference with 16 points (seven wins, two losses), ahead of the Wizards 15 points (seven wins, one loss), Majesty Legends 14 points (six wins, two losses), Swift Sons 13 points, St George's Slayers 12 points, Runnin Rebels and Waterhouse Blazers 11 points (three wins, five losses), Braves Chiefs 11 points (two wins, seven losses), JDF and Blazing Panthers 10 points (three wins, four losses), Portmore Flames 10 points (two wins, six losses), and Selassie Gardens 9 points (two wins, six losses).

While it has been a while since Tivoli have beaten the Knights, the former champions hit a bad patch Friday when Runnin Rebels defeated them 67-57 for their second loss this season.

Omari Green scored a game-high 14 points (8 rebounds) for the Rebels with the 6ft 10in Oneil Mundle taking charge for the Knights with 12 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks.

Meanwhile, the Wizards have found a new home at the UTech Sundays classic, playing their last match there when they overwhelmed Swift Sons, 67-53, with Anthony Farquharson and Kirk Ferguson leading the charge for the defending champions.

Should these players fail to spark, the 6ft 9in Andrew Whilby, who has not had a good season so far, is expected to step up.

At 5:00 pm, Portmore Flames will go up against the Swift Sons.

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, Pure Playaz remain unbeaten with six points, one ahead of Morant Bay Warriors, followed by Yallahs Gators and Portland Pistons and Buff Bay Hawks.

In the Central Conference, Spaulding Hippers are on top with 11 points, ahead of Manchester Pythons 11, Team Aaah nine, Victory eight, and Nain More Ups seven points.

For the Western Conference, Hoopers are ahead with 10 points, with unbeaten Catherine All Stars on nine, Railway Tigers eight, and Innercity Avalanche and Granville Jaguars seven.



Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/Knights--Tivoli-in-Flow-NBL-face-off_8588609#ixzz1HpuL65Lm

Frazsiers ease into quarter-finals

Debutants Frazsiers Whip brushed aside Monymusk 2-0 to book a Flow Champions Cup quarter-final berth on Wednesday at Monymusk Sports Club.

Frazsiers bubbled with confidence early on and deservedly went ahead when Perrie McPherson headed in Jomoy Sibbles' free kick.

Michael Dixon thought he had notched the equaliser two minutes after the restart, but his deft free kick clipped the upright as Monymusk came out firing.

But, all their good work came to naught when their 'keeper Shane Thomas spilled Sibbles' soft shot for the lurking Jevaune Benjamin to win it for the visitors on the hour.

It was a gutsy performance from the St Catherine senior knock-out champions, mixed with their trademark snappy, short passes in attack, but were also forced into some anxious defending at intervals, as Monymusk looked to seize home turf advantage.

And with previous victories over top-ranked Portmore United, Rivoli United, Naggo Head and Star Cosmos already under their belt, the Division One team, who are yet to taste defeat this season, will now fancy their chances whipping their way into the latter stages of the all-island competition.

Despite coming up against an in-form Monymusk team, ranked two leagues higher, Rayon Gordon-coached Frazsiers started positively with their diminutive trio Sibbles, Benjamin and Alton Brown drawing fouls all over the park.

And it was from one such infringement that they took the lead — Sibbles chipping a teasing free-kick into the box from a short-corner position and McPherson made no mistake with a diving header in the 12th minute.

Monymusk looked out of sorts up to this point, but conceding the goal seemed to give them extra motivation, as their game lifted considerably with Christopher Dunn and Davin McKoy taunting Frazsiers' back-four.

Despite this period of dominance, the South Central Super League side only had some soft speculative shots to show for their efforts.

Frazsiers continued to string passes together and the Sibbles/Benjamin combination almost resulted in a second and third goal towards the end of the half.

Michael Dixon was the star in Monymusk's first-round game — bagging a hat-trick as they eased by an understrength Village United 4-1, but was kept in check for the entire first half.

The dreadlocked midfielder, however, came alive at their start of the second 45 minutes with his free-kick smacking off the upright.

In the other game played on Wednesday, Arnett Gardens blanked Downs 2-0 with goals from Kirk Ramsay (seventh minute) and Vanado Manning (84th).

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/Frazsiers-ease-into-quarter-finals_8574230#ixzz1Hd9drzgX

Humble Lions Seek Cup Boost

March 23, 2011

Four games are on today in the Flow Champions Cup, with defending champions Boys' Town, who are seeking to retain the trophy for a third straight time, tackling Humble Lions in an All-Premier League clash.


The matchup, which will kick off at Collie Smith Drive at 3 p.m., will be a rematch of the 2010 final, which saw Boys' Town forced to reclaim the lead twice in order to eventually get the better of the then final debutants 3-2.

However, now finding themselves at the foot of the league table and in the thick of the fight for survival, the team's priorities may be a bit different, but that aside, Humble Lions coach Lenworth Hyde insists a positive result in the fixture could be good tonic for the team's morale.

"A positive result could be a good morale booster for the team. I think we played well on the weekend, we didn't score but I liked the team's performance. It will be a tough game tomorrow, but another solid performance against Boys' Town could give us a lift heading into the final set of games," Hyde said.

Alterations

However, with several key games to come, Hyde admits that he will make alterations to the squad ahead of the Cup tie.

"We take the fixture very seriously, but we will make changes to the squad and give a few players a rest, with so many big games to come."

On all three occasions that the teams have met this season, however, it has been the Red Brigade who have been on the winning end, albeit by a one-goal margin.

In another all-Premier League clash, two struggling teams - St Georges and Waterhouse, will meet at Drewsland at 6 p.m. Waterhouse, who recently parted ways with their head coach Baris Johnson, have lost their last four league games and virtually out of the running for the league title, and could see the Flow Cup as a last chance to win some silverware this season. St Georges, meanwhile, have also found themselves in the thick of the relegation scrap and could also see the competition as a means of gaining momentum.

In other fixture Arnett Gardens, who have already been beaten in one final this season, will fancy their chances of advancing to the quarter-finals when they tackle Manchester's Downs, also at 6 p.m. at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex. In the day's other game, Monymusk will tackle Frazer's Whip at the Monymusk Sports Complex. Kick-off time is 3 p.m.

Source: http://jamaica-star.com/thestar/20110323/sports/sports1.html

Columbus Communications unveiled to Jamaica's Business Core

Kingston Jamaica: Brendan Paddick, CEO of Columbus Communications (parent company of Flow) unveiled to corporate Jamaica on Wednesday March 17 the new Columbus Business Solutions (CBS). The cocktail event held at the Wyndham Hotel in Kingston saw the nation's business core getting a peak at the suite of business solutions set to revolutionise efficiency and economies of scale in Jamaican business operations.

Michele English, Chief Operating Officer of Flow discussed the potential impact of the revolutionary advancements of CBS. She outlined benefits such as reduced cost of business Travel and International Call costs derived from supported video conferencing. Ms English noted, "Columbus Business Solutions will affect all aspects of business and social life in Jamaica. The capacities offered to large and small entities in Jamaica will ensure increased productivity as a nation. CBS offers even greater connectivity and opens the door for remote medicine to reach rural areas."

The Wyndham Ballroom, transformed into a cyber wonderland, was the home to the Business Service hub. The proceedings were steered by a virtual MC who oversaw the elegantly modern affair, via digital screen, and video demonstrations. With Technological advancement at the fore the Member of Parliament and former Minister of Commerce Science and Technology Phillip Paulwell, Danville Walker Commissioner of Customs, Peter Melhado President & CEO ICD Group and Kenny Benjamin Chairman of the Guardsman Group was on hand to experience the cutting edge presentation from Columbus Communications' Executives.

Sharon Roper Marketing Manager of Flow Jamaica introduced the CBS suite of business applications, including remote web surveillance, supported by an extensive network, which spans the Caribbean and Latin America.

The capacity and dependability of the services were endorsed by executive powerhouse Sancia Templar-President of JAMPRO, Gregg Peters-Chairman of the Grace Kennedy Business Technology Council, Heston Hutton- Assistant General Manager f the JCCUL, and Leanne Godfrey-General Manager of the Spanish Court Hotel, alongside a prestigious group of international executives.

As a single service provider, Columbus Business solutions has proven that with unlimited internet usage, High definition television and cable technologies, online voice services, and a reliable telephone network, it offers top class service to its all of its highly respected clients.