Bobby Gray

Meanwhile, Waves copped third place by delivering a similar thrashing to the Rivers who ended the competition without a victory from their eight games.

The final was competitive right up to two minutes before the end of the first quarter when Horizon went on a 10-2 run to open up a 12-point lead.

After that, it was basically one-way traffic as Horizon increased their lead in each subsequent quarter leading 59-47 and 83-68, before emphatically retaining their title.

Gray was named MVP but he was supported by Asaad Woods and Rasheed Maynard Woods who scored 18 and 17 points, respectively.

 Da'Rell Dominek scored 30 points and Jayrn Johnson 22 for the Storm, but could have done with a big game from their best player Brandon BDot Armstrong, who scored only six points in what was his worst game of the tournament.

"(I) feel pretty elated tonight. We had done it in the summer and this is the winter league and we are able to pull off another championship again,” said Horizon head coach Cleon Morgan.

“We came out tonight looked a little bit smoother even though we started off a little sloppy but regardless of that we picked up back the pace and we maintained the lead all the way till the end of the game."

Storm’s head coach, Oneil Brown, said his team did not play to win.

"Actually, a lot of us struggled. I think the guard play; Horizon had better guard play than us tonight,” he said.

“Their guards outscored us and you can see the score at the end. I am disappointed in my team. If it wasn't for Da'Rell we'd by down by 40 and the game would be long over but it has been a good season, ups and down and we looking forward for next year."

In the playoff for third, Waves came prepared to close out the championship with a win after narrowly missing out on a place in the final.

They dominated Rivers in every quarter and category - three-pointers, blocks, free throws and defense. They led 30-12, 52-33, 82-67 before closing out the victory 110-86.

Lushane Wilson scored 27 points and Cameron Burhannon 26 points for Waves while Ricky Shuford had a game-high 35 points and the dependable Anthony Ottleym 14, for Rivers.

"It was a good game but it was one of the toughest games of the season for us mentally. I am really proud of the guys because I was worried,” said Waves coach Rohan Robinson afterwards.

“They said they wanted to finish it off strong, they’re not going out like losers. They are looking forward again to the next tournament in the summer."

After leading Rivers to yet another disappointing loss, Ludlow Barker hopes to get another chance at coaching in the league.

"I think if we going to have the rosters and we can select some more of the players then. If we can choose the kind of team we need then we will get a chance but if you have to play with those you are given then you have to work with it," he said.

League owner Wayne Dawkins was pleased with the tournament stating that the league was here to stay.

"The level of talent we were able to attract down here was extremely high,” he said.

“Our coaching staff did a phenomenal job, our table staff and everybody else, because we really have to get that down in order to be able to scale and grow this thing and so that I was very pleased with."

Waves edged Storm 91-87 while Horizon defeated Rivers 105-86 in the second match of the day.

Waves led 19-17 after the first quarter and 42-36 at the half-way mark. Waves intensified their defensive play in the third quarter to widen the lead to nine points 63-54 at the end of the third. However, Storm stormed back in the fourth outscoring Waves 33-28 after the latter had opened a 16-point lead at the start of the closing stanza.

The rally excited the crowd but was not enough to overcome the deficit in the end.

Lushane Wilson led the scoring with 29 points for Waves. He got support from Nathan Akade’s 16 points and Tyran Walker’s 15. Jayrn Johnson had 24 points and Brandon Armstrong 20 for Storm. Crowd favourite Walker, who had several blocks in the game, revealed afterwards that he was intent on pulling out all the stops for the victory.

"(I was) trying to go out and get a win, doing anything it takes to get a win, be scrappy defensively, just trying to make a statement going into the play-offs,” he said.

“It’s a tough team, the Storm. They are going be a problem in the play-offs, if we end up playing them.”

Storm's assistant coach Simon Brown was naturally disappointed at the defeat.

I’ll be dead honest; I personally believe that the only reason that we lost tonight is because shots that we normally score we didn't start hitting them till the fourth quarter. Simple as that,” he said. "We have to get back to a mental game. Start learning to settle and to be calm in moments like this so that we can step up. Those turnovers came out of frustration rather than out of poor play."

 Coach Brown promised that despite the loss, his team still have their eyes on the top prize.

"What you can expect is the championship,” he said.

“We going all the way to the top. We don't care if it’s the first, second or fourth-place team, whoever we get in front of us our plan is to beat them, play smarter basketball and I think we can take it all."

In the second match of the night Horizon and Rivers were locked on 43 points apiece at the half-way mark. Rivers led by one after the quarter 21-20 but then the Horizon settled down and never looked back.

They outscored Rivers 30-16 to close the third quarter 73-59 and while Rivers tried to stage a comeback in the final quarter ended up losing 105-86.

Bobby Gray led the scoring for Horizon with 35 points while the Rivers' Anthony Ottley had a game-high 38 points.

“It was great. It was a team effort, team win, that's what it takes to bounce back after a loss,” said Gray, whose team lost to Waves in their previous match. You got to play together and believe in yourselves.”

The next set of matches are scheduled for Friday (January 27) beginning at 6:00 pm when the second and third place teams battle for a place in the final and in the other match, the top team in the league will take on the fourth place team for the final spot.

In a rematch of the final preliminary round game which saw the Horizon win in a blowout on Wednesday, the Horizon once again used solid defensive effort to get the job done and end the tournament with a perfect 4-0 record.

Guard Bobby Gray was named man-of-the-match for his 26 points, four assists and four steals.

“This means everything. It’s the first one out here, so, it’s very big and I’m happy to be a part of it,” said Gray who was also named International MVP of the tournament.

“Happy that I was with a group of guys that bought in together and we won it,” he said.

The MVP award felt extra special, according to Gray.

“It means a lot man. I stopped playing basketball for a minute then I got back into it because I figured out I was coming out here. I know how much hard work I put in and now it’s all showing,” he said.

Gray’s teammate Nicholai Brown was named local MVP.

For the Storm, guard Joel Bailey led them in scoring with 23 points while also dishing out eight assists.

He put the loss down to an inability to take care of the basketball.

“Just turning over the ball the last couple minutes of the game. That cost us. We should’ve been more careful with the ball,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Elite 1 Rivers beat Elite 1 Waves 88-83 to secure third place.

Guard Patrick Robinson scored 20 points to help the Rivers exact revenge on the Waves who beat them in their final preliminary round outing on Wednesday.

Gemaal Davis led the Waves with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

The day started with the Elite 1 Horizon recording a blowout 110-64 victory over Elite 1 Rivers thanks to a man-of-the-match performance from guard Bobby Gray, who dominated with 23 points and eight assists.

The game was close after the first quarter with the Horizon holding a 20-19 lead before they stretched the lead to 18 at the half, leading 49-31. Things got uglier after three quarters with the Horizon swelling the lead to 25, leading 84-49, before completing a dominant victory.

The second game saw Elite 1 Storm complete a 79-64 victory over Elite 1 Waves.

In a much closer encounter, the two teams battled throughout the first three quarters and were only separated by two points by the time the fourth quarter came around, with the Storm holding a 53-51 lead.

That fourth quarter, however, saw the Storm play very smart basketball to come away with the victory.

Guard Joel Bailey was voted man-of-the-match thanks to his 17 points, five rebounds and three steals. Teammate Drelan Tripplett also chipped in with 18 points and six assists.

The action continues Sunday when Elite 1 Horizon battle Elite 1 Waves in the first game and Elite 1 Storm face Elite 1 Rivers in the second.

In the first game, the Waves got past the Elite 1 Rivers by a score of 91-75 to close the preliminary round with a 1-2 record and confirm a winless preliminary round for their opponents.

Forward Xander Bowers was named man-of-the-match after leading the way for the Waves with 21 points, four steals, three assists and three blocks. Gemaal Davis also contributed 20 points for the winners.

“Just playing at our pace,” was Bowers’ response when asked what the key to victory was for his team.

“Our coach has been preaching playing at our pace, staying patient and taking care of the ball,” he added.

When asked about his own performance, he felt he could’ve been even better.

“I thought I did okay. I could’ve been a little more aggressive in the second and third quarters. I feel like I started off well and I ended well.”

The same two teams will square off in the third-place playoff on Saturday and Bowers says more of the same should result in a win for the Waves.

“We have the confidence and we know we can beat them now. The key is going to be playing at our pace and being able to take care of the ball and get good shots,” he said.

The second game of the day was a preview of Saturday’s championship game between the unbeaten Horizon and Elite 1 Storm.

What was expected to be a tight encounter proved to be anything but as the Horizon produced a suffocating defensive display to send a message to the Storm ahead of Saturday with a comprehensive 106-84 victory.

Forward Anton Ivey was man-of-the-match with 23 points and eight rebounds while guard Bobby Gray also chipped in with 19 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.

Ivey credited his team’s defense as the catalyst for this statement-making win.

“Our gameplan was defense and we picked it up in the second half,” he said.

He then made no secret of the plan going into Saturday’s finale.

“Same gameplan, defense. We have to do the same things but execute better in the first half,” Ivey said.

The Horizon finished the preliminary round with a perfect 3-0 record while this loss means the Storm finish 2-1.