… Bahamas, US Virgin Islands clash in final
NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) – Jamaica missed out on a spot in the final of the Caribbean Basketball Championship (CBC) when they suffered a narrow overtime loss to favourites the Bahamas in the semifinals on Thursday night. Playing at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium, Jamaica turned in a huge fourth-quarter effort to force the game into added time, but the hosts took charge at that key moment to eke out a 78-75 win.
In yesterday’s title game, the Bahamas were due to come up against the US Virgin Islands who also won a close contest against British Virgin Islands, 79-73.
Jamaica, meanwhile, will play for bronze in the tournament against the BVI in the preceding fixture.
Looking to squash the hopes of the home fans, Jamaica started very poorly and were battered in the first half to be down 43-27 at the break.
They were behind 19-25 after the first quarter and were then completely outplayed in the second quarter, 18-8.
Jamaica turned it around in the second half, however, pouring in 26 points in the third quarter to narrow the Bahamas’ lead to 58-53 at the start of the fourth stanza.
They continued to play strongly, outscoring the Bahamians 17-12 to tie the game at 70.
The come-back effort seemed to take everything from the Jamaicans and the Bahamas got the better of the exchanges, 8-5, in the first overtime period to snatch the win.
For the winners, Alonzo Hinds got 14 points while Jean Cadeau chipped in with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Jamaica, meanwhile, got a game-high 23 points from Akeem Scott and 16 points eight rebounds from Patrick Ewing Jr.
In the other semifinal, Walter Hodge scored 22 points to lead the USVI while Kevin Sheppard got 18 points. Rashid Cann led the losers with 29 points and five steals.
In the playoff games, Bermuda defeated Guyana 68-58 while Antigua and Barbuda defeated St Vincent and the Grenadines 82-66.