The 2023 Jamaica Basketball Showcase (JBS) is set to be bigger and better than the inaugural event in 2022. The event will be broadcast live on several SportsMax platforms and will be reaching a global audience, creating a great opportunity to showcase the best basketball talent in Jamaica and helping to revitalize the sport in the country.
That was the overarching theme expressed at the launch of the 2023 JBS that place on Tuesday, July 19, at Express Fitness at the Constant Spring Golf Club in Kingston. The event was attended by representatives from SportsMax, the Jamaica Basketball Association, and Express Fitness as well as players from the participating teams.
The 2023 JBS is scheduled to take place from July 27-29, 2023, at the Donald Sangster Auditorium at the University of Technology and is expected to be a major showcase for basketball talent in Jamaica. Six Under-20 teams including defending champions PHASE 1 Academy, Purple Power, Hoop Factory Blues, Camperdown Giants, Blue Mahoe Basketball and Caribbean Basketball Academy, will compete for JMD$300,000 in prize money. PHASE 1 will take on Purple Power in the opening match.
Paul Campbell, CEO of Sports Innovators Group (SIG), the event's organizer, said that the 2023 JBS promises to be "bigger and better" than the inaugural event in 2022." He added that the event is expected to "reignite some interest in basketball" in Jamaica.
Campbell cited the addition of SportsMax as a broadcast partner as a major reason for the event's growth. He said that SportsMax's reach will help to expose the JBS to a wider audience, both in Jamaica and around the world.
Meanwhile, Nicholas Matthews, CEO of SportsMax, said that the network is "excited" to be broadcasting the 2023 JBS." Matthews expressed the view that SportsMax is committed to "developing local and regional sports," and that the JBS is a "great opportunity" to do just that.
According to the broadcaster’s CEO, SportsMax, who have entered into a five-year agreement with SIG will be providing premium coverage of the JBS, including live broadcasts on the SportsMax channels and streaming on the Sportsmax app, on CEEN TV as well as the Sports Innovators Group website.
Paulton Gordon, President of the Jamaica Basketball Association, believes JBS is "a huge success" and that the association is "looking forward to an ongoing partnership" with Sports Innovators Group."
He said that the JBS has helped to "revitalize basketball in Jamaica," and that the association is "committed to working with Sports Innovators Group to make the JBS even bigger and better in the years to come."
Nicholas Lynch, CEO of Express Fitness, said that the company is "very much invested into developing sport through youth" and explained that the JBS is "an excellent opportunity" for Express Fitness to "continue that support."
Lynch also said that Express Fitness will be providing a number of resources to the JBS, including fitness training for the players and support for the event's marketing and promotion.
NBA: Young scores 45 as Hawks send Spurs to 13th straight loss
Trae Young scored 45 points and drew a charge with 2.7 seconds left to lift the Atlanta Hawks to a 137-135 win Thursday over the San Antonio Spurs, who lost their 13th straight game.
Dejounte Murray had 24 points and five steals against his former team as Atlanta avoided a third straight loss.
Jeremy Sochan tied his career high with 33 points on 11-of-13 shooting and Victor Wembanyama had 21 with 12 rebounds and four blocks, but the Spurs have remained winless since Nov. 2.
Young scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, going 3 for 5 from the field and 7 for 8 on free throws.
Sochan stole the ball from Saddiq Bey and was driving for the potential tying basket but was called for charging to seal San Antonio’s latest defeat.
The Spurs dominated early, leading by as many as 15 points in the first half.
Butler, Heat overcome Haliburton, Pacers
Jimmy Butler scored 36 points and the Miami Heat used a huge fourth quarter to overcome a career-high 44 points from Tyrese Haliburton in a 142-132 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Miami trailed by 13 early and took its first lead early in the fourth quarter, using a 28-6 run to take control in the opener of a two-game series.
The Heat’s 45 fourth-quarter points were the second-most in team history, topped by only a 48-point fourth against New York on March 2, 1989.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 24 points and Josh Richardson added 19 to help the Heat snap a three-game skid.
Haliburton scored 28 points in the first half and had 10 assists, giving him the NBA’s first game of at least 44 points and that many assists since Donovan Mitchell’s 71-point, 11-assist game for Cleveland on Jan. 2.
Brunson, Knicks send Pistons to 16th straight loss
Jalen Brunson scored 42 points and Julius Randle had 29 points with 10 rebounds as the New York Knicks extended the Detroit Pistons’ franchise-record losing streak to 16 with a 118-112 victory.
RJ Barrett had 15 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 12, hitting a pair of key 3-pointers down the stretch to help the Knicks win their third in four games.
Cade Cunningham scored 31 points and Killian Hayes contributed 23 as Detroit completed a winless November and lost their 13th straight against New York.
The Pistons haven’t won since a victory over Chicago on Oct. 28 left them 2-1.
LeBron: Lakers took criticism to heart after 76ers loss
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers took criticism of their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers "to heart" as they bounced back with a comfortable 133-107 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
The Lakers suffered a heavy 138-94 defeat to the 76ers on Monday, with the 44-point losing margin the largest in James' long career, one that stretches back to 2003.
But the Lakers hit back with an easy win over an overwhelmed Pistons team, and James felt he and his team-mates utilised the scathing assessments of the 76ers defeat to their advantage as they got back to winning ways in emphatic fashion.
"I think we responded well and we played a lot better," James said after the win. "We gave ourselves a better chance defensively.
"We got out to a lot of their shooters that we thought could make shots from the perimeter, but we also controlled the paint. And, you know, that was very key.
"We just took constructive criticism, and we took it to heart and then we applied it to the game.
"It [the criticism] got me a little bit, [but] the next day when we left to come here, it was time to focus on the Pistons."
Williamson 'starting to find rhythm' after 33-point effort helps Pelicans down 76ers
Willie Green believes Zion Williamson is "starting to find his rhythm" after his 33 points led the New Orleans Pelicans to a 124-114 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
Williamson went 11 of 12 from the field as the Pelicans moved to 10-9, taking advantage of the absence of reigning MVP Joel Embiid and ensuring the 76ers fell to 12-6.
Pelicans head coach Green is delighted with the play of Williamson, who has now scored at least 26 points and managed five assists in his last six games, saying: "He was great. He attacked the basket. Getting to the paint was something we were big on.
"He's been knocking off some rust. You can see he's getting better and better as we progress. He's starting to find his rhythm.
We're putting him in different situations and he's thriving, so it's fun to see."
With Embiid out through illness, Philadelphia struggled without their key man, and 76ers head coach Nick Nurse was frustrated with his team's display after the game.
"We cannot use that [Embiid's absence] as an excuse, and we won't," Nurse told reporters. "What put us in a big hole is we didn't go out and execute our defensive schemes the way we wanted to from the start of the game."
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