Kwakwani Secondary retain U-16 title
THE sport of basketball is at a standstill in Region 10, but that didn’t stop the Linden Technical Institute (LTI) and Kwakwani Secondary from dominating this year’s National Schools Basketball Festival (NSBF) that came to a fitting climax on Sunday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
The Linden Technical Institute (LTI) walked away with the tournament’s most prestigious trophy; the Champions of Champions silverware, which was sponsored by the US-based charitable organisation – The Haynes Foundation.
New Amsterdam Multilateral fell prey to their Linden opponents, being blown out by 38 points (73–35) in the featured game of the tournament.
The game was already over from jump-ball after LTI went on a 6–0 run, led by their star players; point Guard Marlon Pollydore and Champion of Champions Most Valuable Player Geoffrey LaRose.
Though the other players all chipped in on the scoreboard, it was the duo and lethal pair of Pollydore and LaRose who caused some damage to the school from the ancient county.
At halftime, LTI led 37–21 but things took a drastic turn as the New Amsterdam school were allowed to score 14 points in the second half as compared to the 36 dropped by the eventual winners.
La Rose scored a game-high 28 points and hauled down 13 rebounds while Pollydore had 12 points and dished out 12 assists.
Ryan Caesar’s 15 points was his team’s highest and the only player from the side to score double figures.
The win meant that LTI got the first lien on the Haynes Foundation trophy which was hand-made by the Port Maraunt Technical Institute.
Kwakwani Secondary continued their stronghold on the Under-16 tournament when they came from behind to defeat Plaisance Secondary 55–48 to avoid an upset.
Meanwhile, the Champion of Champions trophy came as a means of consolation for LTI after they were stretched to the limit by Kwakwani Secondary in the Division-1 Championship finals.
The school from the Berbice River in Region 10 made LTI work extra hard for their title after forcing the game into overtime when they fell 75–66.
Pollydore was once again in superb form for LTI, pouring in 30 points and grabbing seven rebounds while he received support from Joel Webster who had 12 points and pulling in 12 rebounds.
Dominque Douglas (21 points) and Elvis Thompson (17) were Kwakwani’s prime players as the two led a defiant fight against a more composed LTI team.
In other games played on the evening: After having a superb tournament, star player Dominic Vincente was denied glory after his school Trust College lost 45–43 to New Amsterdam Multilateral in a thriller for the Division-2 final.
Nicknamed the Logo kid, Vincente scored a game-high 23 points that came along with eight points and six steals but he lacked a proper supporting cast.
The crafty point guard was supported by Richard Heyligar who had eight points and 15 rebounds while Tyrone Dey with 16 points and seven rebounds was New Amsterdam’s top player.
In what was classified as one of the most exciting games of the evening, Kwakwani came back from being down as many as 12 points in the final period to win 55–48 and retain their Under–16 title.
The champions were always down in the game as they trailed 24–21 at halftime until Eon Meredith (15 points) and Leonard Primo (8) led a spirited fightback.
Nduka Horatio’s double (19 points, 19 rebounds) went down as futile as his side came up short on their attempt to dethrone the champions.