NASSAU, Bahamas, (CMC) – Reigning men’s champions Jamaica kicked off their defence of the CARICOM Basketball  Championship with a 92-78 victory over Antigua & Barbuda on Saturday. Hosts Bahamas made home court advantage count, when they crushed Cayman Islands 94-41 to bring the curtain down on the opening day of matches at the Kendall Isaacs Gymnasium, and Bermuda rolled over St. Vincent & the Grenadines 75-56 in another one-sided affair to open the championship.

With a star-studded line-up, including Patrick Ewing Jr, the son of the Jamaica-born former New York Knicks star of the same name, the Jamaicans have been installed as the favourites.

But the plucky Antiguans showed great resolve in the first period to keep things close at 21-18 after the first quarter.

The Jamaicans however, showed their greater fitness, and opened up the scoreboard, leading 50-38 at halftime.

Antigua & Barbuda came roaring back with a strong third-quarter performance, out-scoring the Jamaicans 23-18 to cut the lead to 68-61 after three periods.

The rebounding battle was important throughout the contest, and Jamaica crashed the boards for 15 more than the Antiguans.

Akeem Scott had a huge game for Jamaica with 33 points, six rebounds, four assists, five steals, and three blocks; and Garfield Blair narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds.

Julius Hodge and Lennox McCoy led the way for Antigua & Barbuda with 24 and 22 points respectively.

Hodge added nine boards to his performance, and McCoy seven.

In the last game of the day, Alonzo Hinds led all scorers with 21, and Eugene Bain dropped nine points and grabbed 10 boards, as the Bahamas showed their superiority over the Caymans.

From the tip-off, the Bahamas dominated every aspect of the game, leading 28-14 after the first quarter, 48-24 at halftime, and 71-34 at three-quarter time.

The Caymans had no answer for the Bahamian blitz, and only Jorge Ebanks with 11 points and five rebounds showed his worth.

In the opener, Bermuda grabbed their first ever victory at a regional championship, when they took advantage of SVG.

From the beginning, the Bermudians showed there were a class above the Vincentians, and proved it, leading throughout at 19-12, 37-29, 58-41.

Turnovers were crucial in the game, with SVG committing 23, and Bermuda only 11, which roughly explains why they won.

Sullivan Phillips led the game for Bermuda with a double-double of 18 points and 11 assists, with five rebounds and four steals.

On the other side, Lezlo McKenzie distinguished himself with 17 points and 12 boards to lead the SVG offence.

The Championship continued yesterday, when Caymans face the British Virgin Islands, Antigua & Barbuda meet the United States Virgin Islands, and Bermuda play the Bahamas.