By Daniel Haynes
The final games of the Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) National School Basketball Festival (NSBF) were everything that basketball fans could hope for,with almost every being a close cut encounter and in the finals it appeared as if each team that was there belong. The first game of the night,between Mackenzie High and Kwakwani Secondary U-14 tipped off the Festival in fine fashion. Mackenzie overcame a 15-point half time deficit to win by two points 37-35, coming down to two free-throws separating the victors. From the start Kwakwani showed their dominance, as was to be expected from the defending champions.
They lead in the first quarter 13-1 and the half 22-7. However,a rally from Mackenzie, led by Stephan Duncan, inspired the comeback. It was multiple turnovers from Kwakwani which allowed Mackenzie to steal the game at the line after being tied 35-35 with 13 seconds left.
Kobe Tappin stepped to the free-throw line and iced the game, breaking Kwakwani’s hearts. Duncan led all scores with 14 points and he was supported by Tappin and Shemar Savory who recorded 9 each. Kadeem Dover was the top scorer for Kwakwani with 9 points with David Conway following with 8. For the winners, Tappin walked away with Best Defense of the tournament, with Demarcus Adams coming away with Best Assist. It was Dover, however, who took home the tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors along with Best Scorer.

In the U-16 finals, Mackenzie High walked away the champions after downing Marian Academy 36-17. Initially an even game, Mackenzie pulled away in the second quarter to finish the half 18-10. The game would stay with Mackenzie,who in the third quarter employed a swing the ball policy to kill the time on the clock. The fourth quarter was much of the same with Mackenzie putting the icing on a perfect cake with two trophies. For the winners, Shemar Anderson recorded 10 points with Yannick Tappin finishing with 8 points. Jahleel Young finished with 9 points for the losers. Tappin also carried home the Most Valuable Player (MVP)award, Best Scorer and Best Assists honours, with Anderson copping the Best Defense accoldade.
In the female finals, Kwakwani girls avenged their male counterparts and withstood a barrage from Marian Academy to take home the gold 14-11. It was a closely contested encounter played with a high level of physicality. For Kwakwani, Kennesha Leacock registered 6 points and was backed up by Anansa Gladstone’s 4. Jada Mohan secured 9 points in the win and walked home with Best Assists and the Best Defense trophies. It was Kennesha Leacock who took home the MVP and Best Scorer awards.
The U-19 match-up lived up to its hype with defending Champions Kwakwani going against GTI, in a highly physical and competitive game.The first quarter saw GTI taking an early lead 26-20, and holding that lead until the close of the first half, behind main point man Nathan Saul. In the second half,the rally started for Kwakwani, led by prolific guard Stanton Rose who knocked down a three with 7 minutes left in the third quarter to take the lead 31-28. From then Kwakwani would keep the lead with GTI only trailing by a maximum of 5 points. The closest the game came in the waning moments was when GTI cut the lead to 52-49 with 36.2 seconds left in the game. In the end,Kwakwani held their nerve to hold on to a 2 point victory 52-50,and in the process completed a 3-peat.
Kwakwani’s triple threat of Stanton Rose, Damair Gladstone and Troy David ,who scored 11,16 and 10 respectively, led them home. For GTI, Sebastian Luke and Nathan Saul had 15 and 13 in the effort.
According to coach Dave Causway “Thanks to Stanton Rose for leading this team to the three-peat and this win will do wonders for basketball in Kwakwani.”
For Rose, it was a good tournament, walking away with the Best Assists, Best Defense and Most Valuable Player. For Nathan Saul,he went home with Best Scorer Honors.
The tournament was sponsored by:The Beharry Group of Companies, Digicel and Banks DIH Limited.