Storm's Brandon "BDot" Armstrong is surrounded by Rivers players as he tries to take a shot in the second match of fifth round of the Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball Winter League on Saturday January 21 at the National Arena.
The Waves overpowered defending champion Horizon to snap their winning streak and hand them their first loss of the Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball Winter League last Saturday at the National Arena while the Storm defeated the Rivers, who is yet to record a win in the league.
Horizon started out slowly while taking three minutes to score its first point and ending the quarter 18 to Waves' 26. Waves outscored them in the second quarter as well and lead by as many as 23 to close the quarter at 34-57. Horizon picked up the scoring in the third quarter but was still behind (60-73) at the end. Horizon continued to make inroads in the fourth quarter but jut could not get the win. The match went to the Waves 88-83 who won by just five points. The Waves's Cameron Burhannon (37 points) was on fire throughout the game while Bobby Gray (22 points), was the top scorer for Horizon.
Waves and Horizon now have four wins each after playing five matches while defeating each other once in the league so far. The will next meet in the play-off to see who the finalists will be.
Waves' coach Rohan Robinson was pleased with the win, "well it was a good one (match). We watched the game (the first game and saw the mistakes). We went back to the drawing board and said that the guys have to live up to their responsibility and live up to role and as a result of that we gained a 26-point lead, then we had some issues with persons playing too much minutes. I allowed the bench to give them as much rest as possible but I am just disappointed a bit that when the bench came in they couldn't hold the lead. I am going to hold my leaders accountable for how we finished the game because we should not be in that position again." He made special mention of 7-footer Tyran Walker who was injured early in the league, for having a very good game.
Horizon's coach Cleon Morgan accepted the loss but thinks that its good for the team at this stage of the competition. "We have lost tonight but we have a four-game win streak which was pretty good for us. I think there are two matches to go. Losing at this point is good for the team as we can go back to the drawing board, look at our mistakes tonight and work on that so we can come back again play how we are used to playing." He was happy to reduce the Waves' win margin to just five after being down by 26 in the third quarter.
The second match of the night was eagerly awaited as everyone in the Arena willed the Rivers to get their first win. They came close to doing so several times but faltered by the way after being in good positions with healthy leads but it was another night of disappointment for them. The Storm put on a show while winning every quarter 21-15, 58-38, 78-62 and 102-79 to take the match by 23 points. The top scorers in the match were - Storm's Brandon "Bdot" Armstrong with 23 points and Rivers' Anthony Ottley 27 points.
Armstrong credited his team for the win "it was great overall match. It was the first time we had a full squad, no injuries so I knew that we were going to come out playing well, playing well defensively, and moving the ball. This is our best complete game from starting number to the fourteenth person on the bench. I must give credit to my teammates."
The next set of matches are scheduled for Wednesday (January 25) when four-time winner Waves will take on the Storm (2 wins) at the National Arena at 6:00 pm. The 8:00pm match-up will see the defending champion Horizon taking on Rivers who is still seeking their first win.
Randle happy to 'feel wanted' despite 'shock' trade to Timberwolves
Julius Randle says he is happy to be at the Minnesota Timberwolves where he "feels wanted" but admitted feeling shocked by the New York Knicks trade.
He was part of a blockbuster trade, joining the Timberwolves with Donte DiVincenzo, as Karl-Anthony Towns headed the other way in a deal that was completed earlier this week.
Randle was a three-time All-Star with the Knicks as their starting power forward, a Most Improved Player winner and a two-time All-NBA selection.
Last season, he averaged 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, though he did not play in the playoffs after dislocating his shoulder on January 27 and opted to undergo surgery in April after two months of rehab.
Although he had initially been looking forward to another shot at the playoffs with the Knicks, he is now invigorated about joining another championship contender.
"It was a lot of emotion," Randle said. "You spend a lot of time living in one place, you know, New York, going there five years ago... A lot of blood, sweat, and tears put into that organization and uniform. Initially, it's always going to be a shock.
"You want to be somewhere where you feel wanted. I feel wanted here. At this point in my career, I've accomplished a lot of great things on an individual level, but I want to win a championship. This is a perfect opportunity to do that.
"[The trade] was a breath of fresh air. I'm excited to bring everything I've learned here over the past five years and help these guys out. My only thing here is I just want to help.
"I want to help [Anthony Edwards]. I want to help Rudy [Gobert], Naz [Reid] - all those guys. I want to help win a championship, and that's the only thing that matters."
The Timberwolves start their season against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 22, with their preseason beginning against the same opponent on Friday.
Fever's Clark near-unanimous pick for WNBA Rookie of Year
Caitlin Clark lived up to the lofty expectations as one of the most highly touted rookies in WNBA history, and has been rewarded.
The WNBA announced Thursday that the Indiana Fever star was chosen as the league's Rookie of the Year.
Clark received 66 of 67 votes, with the other vote going to Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky.
After a phenomenal collegiate career, Clark was the first pick of this year's draft and made an immediate impact on the court and also by helping the WNBA gain popularity worldwide.
She broke the league's single-season assist mark with 337 - including a WNBA-record 19 in one game - and averaged 8.4 per game to become the first rookie to lead the league in that stat.
Her 122 3-pointers also led all players and she scored the most points ever by a rookie with an average of 19.2 per game to rank seventh in the WNBA.
With averages of 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals, she started all 40 games for the Fever to help the franchise reach the play-offs for the first time since 2016.
Joining Clark on the 2024 WNBA All-Rookie Team is Reese and Kamilla Cardoso of the Sky, New York Liberty forward Leonie Fiebich and Los Angeles Sparks forward Rickea Jackson.
Fever's Clark chosen as WNBA Rookie of Year
Caitlin Clark lived up to the lofty expectations as one of the most highly touted rookies in WNBA history, and has been rewarded.
The WNBA announced Thursday that the Indiana Fever star was chosen as the league's Rookie of the Year.
Clark received 66 of 67 votes, with the other vote going to Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky.
After a phenomenal collegiate career, Clark was the first pick of this year's draft and made an immediate impact on the court and also by helping the WNBA gain popularity worldwide.
She broke the league's single-season assist mark with 337 - including a WNBA-record 19 in one game - and averaged 8.4 per game to become the first rookie to lead the league in that stat.
Her 122 3-pointers also led all players and she scored the most points ever by a rookie with an average of 19.2 per game to rank seventh in the WNBA.
With averages of 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals, she started all 40 games for the Fever to help the franchise reach the play-offs for the first time since 2016.
Joining Clark on the 2024 WNBA All-Rookie Team is Reese and Kamilla Cardoso of the Sky, New York Liberty forward Leonie Fiebich and Los Angeles Sparks forward Rickea Jackson.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
