Action between the Caribbean Basketball Academy and Blue Mahoe Basketball on day one of the 2023 Jamaica Basketball Showcase.
Phase 1 Academy and Camperdown Giants were the only two teams to go unbeaten as the 2023 Jamaica Basketball Showcase got underway at the Alfred Sangster Auditorium at the University of Technology (UTECH) in Kingston on Thursday.
Defending champions, Phase 1 Academy, entered their first game with just five players but that didn’t seem to matter as they secured a comfortable 41-27 victory over Purple Power.
Derjean Royal led the way for Phase 1 with 20 points and five rebounds while Mordecai Clarke had 10 points and six rebounds for Purple Power.
Phase 1 Academy coach, Onecia Smellie, praised her team’s effort despite their lack of numbers.
“As you can see, we don’t really have numbers so the strategy was just to conserve on defense and push on offense. We have to play smarter because we don’t have numbers,” Smellie said before going into what they needed to address to be better in the coming games.
“We definitely have to brush up on defense. We gave away a lot of backdoor cuts. As we can see, my guys have been playing for a while but sometimes when the excitement of the game comes in, adrenaline kicks in and they just go. We definitely gave away some easy layups and we weren’t boxing out sometimes. If we work on those areas I think we should be fine,” she added.
Coach Orville Bennett from Purple Power was critical of his team’s ability to play together but says more experience will do them well.
“More games will solve that. It’s a mix of my younger players and my more senior Under-19s so they need to learn to play as a team and not individuals.”
“I guess it’s because of the bright lights of the tournament, everybody wants to show what they have so with more games under their belt, that will go away.”
“Our opponents will be bigger, stronger and more seasoned then my young team so we’ll go back to the drawing board and come better.”
The day’s second game was an absolute treat as the Hoop Factory Blues pull out a dramatic 44-41 win over Blue Mahoe Basketball.
Blue Mahoe played a solid first half to go into the halftime interval with a 14-12 lead before Hoop Factory turned the game on its head to lead 26-20 after the third quarter.
Blue Mahoe retook a 38-37 lead with 1:27 left in the game before, with the teams tied at 41 with 10 seconds left, Dakari Nicolson hit a game-winning three-point shot with two seconds left to secure the win for Hoop Factory.
Kymani Phillips had a solid all-round game for the Blues with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists and was supported well by Nathan Ricketts with 12 points, five steals and three assists. Hubert Rodney had 13 points and seven rebounds for Blue Mahoe.
Hoop Factory coach, Lennox Lindo, was happy with the win despite his team almost blowing a 10-point lead with very little time left in the contest.
“I was nervous a bit but also a bit disappointed too. We had a 10-point lead with about three minutes to go then we changed up our defense and it almost cost us the game but we got a really good shot in the last couple of seconds.”
Blue Mahoe coach, Lynford Brown, was proud of his team despite the defeat and pointed to an inability to hold on to the ball as his team’s downfall.
“To be honest, I’m really proud of my boys. They’re a fairly inexperienced and young team. There were some key moments for us where we committed some unforced turnovers which led to us losing. Nonetheless, I’m very proud.
The third game of the day saw the Camperdown Giants score an impressive 54-35 win over last year’s finalists, the Caribbean Basketball Academy (CBA).
The Giants produced an excellent defensive display to lead 30-15 at the start of the fourth quarter, including a third quarter where they held CBA to just four points.
Micah Swaine had 15 points, three steals and two assists and Mark McGowan had nine points and eight rebounds for the giants while Jaiden Brown had 12 points for CBA.
CBA coach Ludlow Barker, thought the Giants deserved to win.
“First I’d have to congratulate the Giants on getting their first win of the competition. It’s the first time they’re in it,” he said.
“I thought we played a very indiscipline game and fell behind and then we struggled throughout. I thought we were too relaxed before the game and they came out and wanted it more so they deserved to win,” he added.
Giants coach, Nylon Hurd, was happy with the win.
“Any coach would be happy with a win. Both defensively and offensively, it worked out well for us,” he said.
“Based on the start, we got ahead of them and stuck to it. We only got a bit indiscipline in the third quarter and that’s when they made a little run but then we got back disciplined and that was the game,” he added.
After a break, play returned with Phase 1 Academy facing Hoop Factory Blues, with each team searching for their second win of the day.
Phase 1, with six players this time, were able to come out 51-40 winners.
Derjean Royal had his second great game of day one with 26 points and eight rebounds for Phase 1 while Nathan Ricketts had 14 points for the Blues.
The day’s fifth game saw Blue Mahoe hand Caribbean Basketball Academy their second loss of the day by a score of 45-44.
Akeem Pusey and Hubert Rodney both had 14 points for Blue Mahoe while pulling down seven and eleven rebounds, respectively. Joel Ricketts had 13 points and five rebounds for CBA.
The day’s final game proved to be another nail-biter as Camperdown Giants beat Purple Power 34-29 for their second win of the day.
The Giants led 8-5 after a cagey first quarter before Power turned things around slightly to lead 18-16 at the half. It was a one-point game in favor of the Giants entering the final quarter where they held their nerve to pull out the win after the two teams exchanged the lead multiple times.
Micah Swaine scored 13 points while Mark McGowan had six points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Giants. Jacqwaine Freeman had 11 points for Purple Power.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
Girlz coach Busby eyes improved performance as 'Bunny' Shaw returns for South Africa friendlies
With Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz failing to register a win since beating Panama at last year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup, Head coach Hubert Busby says the two highly anticipated home friendlies against South Africa represent an opportunity to turnaround their poor run of form.
Though focused on more than just immediate results, Busby pointed out that victory in upcoming matches is part of a larger vision—a journey toward a third-consecutive World Cup appearance in 2027 and the continued development of a sustainable, competitive program for Jamaica’s women’s football.
The Girlz will take on South Africa at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on November 29 and December 2, in what will be their first matches on home soil since November 2022. It will also be the first game in Jamaica for the core group of the 2023 World Cup squad since last September’s Olympic qualifying playoff against Canada.
“It’s special to have the girls back playing in front of our fans. This is an opportunity to connect with the home crowd again, but it’s also a critical step in our preparation for what’s ahead,” Busby shared as he unveiled his 23-member squad.
“We're looking to have a good performance, then that leads to, obviously, a good result to end the year, but really it is also about us continuing to evaluate and to make the proper assessment of the players who continue to kind of move forward into World Cup qualifiers. I mean, that's really the bigger picture. So short term, let's get two good performances this week...two good results and take that into the February window,” he added.
Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw has been in good form for Manchester City.
Busby’s approach reflects his determination to build on recent experiences, including lessons learned from challenging matches against top-tier opponents like Brazil and more recently, France.
Despite a compressed six-day camp prior to that encounter, in which they lost 0-3, he noted the progress made in refining their style of play, particularly in maintaining possession and executing defensive transitions.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted against France, but there were positives, especially in how we’re evolving our style of play—keeping possession and building from the back. But we need to cut down on individual mistakes and improve decision-making in critical moments. Football is a game of moments, and minimizing mistakes during crucial periods is a key focus for us,” he noted.
With the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil as the ultimate target, Busby has been focused on establishing a winning culture while integrating new talent into the team.
For the last camp, he invited Taylor Hinds, Lulu Jarvis, Reanna Blades, and Natasha Thomas in to see how they fit into the programme, but none of those players are listed for the upcoming camp, in which national youth representative Destiny Powell and Naya Cardoza will be the only new players among the core group.
The coach stressed that his job is not just to guide the team to their third consecutive World Cup but to lay the groundwork for Jamaica’s participation in every World Cup thereafter, hence the consistent inclusion of young talent.
“It’s not just about Brazil in 2027. It’s about creating a sustainable pipeline of talent so we’re always competitive because their growth today will fuel our success tomorrow. So it's really important to get these young players in,” Busby shared.
“My responsibility is to get this team to the 2027 World Cup, but with that said, you know, we want to ensure that we're going to every single World Cup afterwards. Integrating young, talented players into the group to see where they are keeps the group fresh and challenges the group to keep it competitive. The success that we've had in the past, the average age, I believe was about 26 years of age, so they'll probably be about 28 going forward,” he explained.
One of the most exciting elements of the upcoming friendlies is the return of Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, who has been in rich form for Manchester City.
Busby, while highlighting her influence, both as a leader and a prolific scorer, as key to the team’s offensive strategy, also emphasized that the team’s success needs to be rooted in defence as former captain Konya Plummer, left full-back/winger Siobhan Wilson, and defensive midfielder Peyton McNamara also make a return to the fold. Wilson recently recovered from an ACL injury.
Siobhan Wilson makes a long-awaited return after an ACL injury kept her out of action for nine months.
“One of our objectives is to keep a clean sheet. Being good defensively has been the basis of our foundation of success without a doubt, but the biggest inclusion in this group is leader ‘Bunny’ Shaw. She's been in great form, as we all know, so it gives us another option up front to go around with all the as to go along with the other attacking options we have. But having her back in the group helps tremendously,” the tactician declared.
Like the Reggae Girlz, South Africa are also fresh off their participation in the 2023 World Cup, and Busby expects the games to be another tough challenge for his side, much like it was in their last meeting in 2019 when they played out a 1-1 stalemate in Durban.
“Going into these two games against a great-quality opponent in South Africa still gives us a really good litmus test in terms of where we are and, more importantly, where we need to go. So that is the objective. We want to get the wins. We want to improve performance. And we're hoping that these next two games will see a much more improved performance than we have before, that's for sure,” Busby ended.
Squad: Rebecca spencer, Liya Brooks, Allyson Swaby, Konya Plummer, Naya Cardoza, Vyan Sampson, Chantelle Swaby, Deneisha Blackwood, Siobhan Wilson, Atlanta Primus, Destiny Powell, Peyton McNamara, Jade Bailey Drew Spence, Paige Bailey-Gayle, Olufolasade Adamolekun, Khadija Shaw, Kayla McKenna, Davia Richards, Jody Brown, Shania Hayles, Shaniel Buckley, Tiffany Cameron
Dallas Mavericks star Doncic out at least one week
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić will be sidelined at least one week due to a strained right wrist, ESPN reported Thursday.
Doncic said after Dallas' 132-91 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday that he hurt his wrist in the first quarter, though he remained in the game and told reporters afterward he believed the injury to be "nothing serious."
The 2023-24 NBA MVP finalist had his wrist checked out Wednesday, according to ESPN, which revealed the strain.
Doncic is set to miss the entirety of Dallas' three-game road trip that begins with Friday's clash with the Denver Nuggets, as well as the Mavericks' next home game against the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
Doncic has missed just one of Dallas' first 15 games of this season, though his numbers are slightly down compared to his consecutive First Team All-NBA campaigns of 2022-23 and 2023-24. The five-time All-Star has shot 43.5 per cent from the field and 32.4 per cent from 3-point range while averaging 28.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game.
The 25-year-old averaged 33.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 8.9 assists over the course of the previous two seasons while shooting 49.1 per cent from the field and 36.5 per cent from beyond the arc.
Doncic's injury comes after the Mavericks were starting to gain traction following a sluggish start to this season. Tuesday's win was Dallas' third straight after it lost four consecutive games to fall to 5-7 over its first 12 contests.
The Mavericks are coming off a highly successful 2023-24 season in which they reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011. Dallas then made one of the offseason's more notable moves by acquiring four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson in a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors.
George hyperextends knee in latest injury blow for Sixers
The Philadelphia 76ers could be without Paul George for several weeks after he suffered a hyperextended left knee during their defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
The Sixers' miserable start to the season continued as they suffered their 12th defeat in 14 games – and their fifth in a row – at FedExForum, going down 117-111.
Philadelphia fielded star trio George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey together for the first time after the latter recovered from a hamstring injury, but George was forced to exit early in the second half.
George previously missed five games of preseason after hyperextending the same knee, and head coach Nick Nurse believes he could face a similar spell on the sidelines.
"I think they said it was similar to last time, which was a bone bruise, I think," Nurse said.
"He was actually fairly close to coming back in the game, but then it kind of stiffened up as he got out a little bit more, so I decided not to, and now we got to take a look at it, make sure."
However, Nurse was more upbeat when asked if the team could rule out structural damage to George's knee, saying: "I think so."
George only managed two points, four rebounds and two assists in his 17 minutes on court, going 1-of-6 shooting.
Despite Philadelphia continuing to be hamstrung by fitness concerns, Nurse admitted they had not done enough to warrant a better result.
"Listen, it's certainly not easy," Nurse said. "Tyrese was just getting back and didn't really have a feel tonight, and Paul going out...
"It's certainly not easy but we didn't put enough together again for 48."
The Sixers have seven games in the next 14 days, starting with Friday's home encounter with the Brooklyn Nets and ending against the Orlando Magic on December 6.
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