The St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots and the Trinbago Knight Riders both got one in the win column in the 6IXTY at Warner Park in St. Kitts on Friday.

The Patriots secured a three-wicket victory over the Kings, condemning them to their second straight loss.

Batting first after being put in by the Patriots, the Kings struggled mightily, being bowled out for 66 in 8.4 overs. Johnson Charles provided some spark to the innings with 28 against an excellent spell from left-arm spinner Jaden Carmichael who took 2-6 from his two overs.

The hosts then needed just six overs to reach their target, finishing 72-3. Sherfane Rutherford ended the game with four consecutive sixes to finish 24 not out off just five balls while captain Evin Lewis earlier contributed 22.

In the second encounter, the Knight Riders secured a 47-run victory over the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

The Knight Riders overcame a tricky first half of their innings which saw them struggle to get on top of the Warriors bowling to eventually score 95-4 from their 10 overs after losing the toss. Tion Webster (27) and Terrance Hinds (23) were the main contributors for the Knight Riders while Odean Smith shone with the ball with 2-11 from his two overs.

The Warriors, in reply, were then put in a stranglehold by an excellent TKR bowling performance. Hitting only four fours and, remarkably, no sixes, the Warriors were restricted 48 all out off just 8.1 overs with South African Heinrich Klaasen getting 25 not out.

Captain Ravi Rampaul was the pick of the bowlers with 2-6 from his two overs while Jayden Seales was also impressive, finishing with 2-10 from his two overs.

The Jamaica Tallawahs will tackle the Barbados Royals while Guyana Amazon Warriors Women will play Trinbago Knight Riders Women later on Friday.

The Barbados Royals secured a three-wicket victory over the Trinbago Knight Riders in the 6IXTY at Warner Park in St. Kitts on Thursday.

The Knight Riders, after winning the toss and deciding to bat first, struggled to 76 all out in just 7.5 overs. West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein top-scored for TKR with 27. It was a very balanced assault from the Royals with the ball as Oshane Thomas, Rakheem Cornwall, Corbin Bosch, Hayden Walsh Jr and Joshua Bishop all took a wicket apiece.

The chase was then made to look simple thanks to the South African Bosch who smashed a 23-ball 42 to complete a man-of-the-match performance. Ireland’s Harry Tector also contributed 16 not out. Ravi Rampaul took 1-5 for the Knight Riders.

In the earlier Men’s games, The Guyana Amazon Warriors beat the St. Lucia Kings by seven runs and the Jamaica Tallawahs got a 55-run win over the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots.

In the lone Women’s encounter on Thursday, the Trinbago Knight Riders secured a comfortable 29-run win over Barbados Royals.

Returning captain Deandra Dottin starred with the bat for the Knight Riders with 46 off 34 balls to help her team set a total of 92-3 from their 10 overs. Pakistan’s Fatima Sana was excellent with the ball for the Royals with 1-9 from her two overs.

In their reply, the Royals were rocked early by a sensational hat-trick from the USA’s Geetika Kodali in the second over when she removed captain Hayley Matthews for two before dismissing Britney Cooper and South Africa’s Chloe Tryon.

The Royals never recovered, ending their chase at 63-5 from their 10 overs.

Chinelle Henry provided most resistance with 37 while Reniece Boyce also made 18.

Kodali finished with figures of 3-6 off her two overs while Shenetta Grimmond and Sune Luus took one wicket each.

The Guyana Amazon Warriors and Jamaica Tallawahs both secured victories to kick off the Men’s 6ixty at Warner Park in St. Kitts on Thursday.

The Warriors kicked off proceedings by getting a narrow seven-run victory over the St. Lucia Kings. The Warriors batted first after the Kings won the toss and elected to field, posting 111-5 off their 10 overs thanks to a crucial 24-ball 36 not out from West Indies all-rounder Odean Smith.

Jeavor Royal with 2-8 and Matthew Forde with 2-24 starred with the ball for the Kings.

The Kings, despite a fighting 23-ball 41 from Roshon Primus, then fell agonizingly short of their target, being bowled out for 104 with one ball to spare.

Afghanistan wrist-spinner Waqar Salamkheil was the chief destroyer for the Warriors with 3-16.

In the day’s second game, the Tallawahs got a dominant 55-run win over hosts St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots.

The Patriots won the toss and elected to field first, a decision they’d soon regret as the Tallawahs bludgeoned the bowling to post an intimidating 139 all out off 9.5 overs.

West Indies all-rounders Fabian Allen (45), Raymon Reifer (38) and Rovman Powell (32) were all equally destructive as off-spinner Jon-Russ Jagessar was most economical for the Patriots with 1-13 from his two overs.

In reply, the Patriots offered little resistance before being bundled out for 84 after just 7.2 overs.

South African teenage phenom Dewald Brevis was the only batsman to contribute something of note, hitting 34 off just 11 balls including five mammoth sixes.

Migael Pretorious, Niocholson Gordon and Jamie Merchant all took two wickets apiece for the Tallawahs.

Thursday’s third game will see the Barbados Royals tackle the Trinbago Knight Riders. The Royals and Knight Riders will also do battle in the lone Women’s game on Thursday.

Organiser of the P.H.A.S.E 1 Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball League Wayne Dawkins says he’s looking at expanding the league to the rest of the Caribbean in the future.

The P.H.A.S.E 1 E1 CBL was held from August 13-20 at the National Arena in Kingston, Jamaica. It featured four teams comprised of professionals from Jamaica, Barbados, USA and Canada and saw excellent crowd support throughout.

“We want to do big things for basketball in Jamaica and the Caribbean,” said Dawkins in an interview with Sportsmax.TV on Saturday.

“Absolutely. We still have to perfect this and then, as that happens, we can expand it to the rest of the Caribbean but it really starts with the product that we’re able to perfect right here in Jamaica,” he added.

With this in mind, Dawkins also outlined the amount of work that goes into putting on a basketball league.

 “It’s an immense amount of work. You have to recruit players, think about player management, finding and developing staff. Identify venues, all the different production partners, sales, marketing and everything. All those divisions require a lot of coordination and a lot of work,” he said.

Jamaica secured 24 medals to lead all Caribbean nations at the 2022 NACAC Open Championships which concluded on Sunday in Freeport, Bahamas.

Entering Sunday’s final day with 12 medals, the Jamaicans doubled their tally to finish second overall on the medal table, trailing the USA who finished with 69.

Those 24 medals were split into six golds, nine silvers and nine bronzes. Cuba was the next best placed Caribbean country with six medals including two golds, one silver and three bronzes.

Jamaica’s final day was highlighted by Andrew Hudson’s personal best 19.87 to win the 200m.

Hosts The Bahamas was next with one gold, two silvers and four bronzes for seven medals overall. That gold medal came from hometown hero Shaunae Miller-Uibo who ran 49.40 to win the 400m.

Also registering gold medals were The British Virgin Islands through Kyron McMaster’s brilliant season’s best 47.34 in the 400m hurdles and Dominica through Thea LaFond's 14.49m in the triple jump.

Trinidad & Tobago got silvers in the men’s 4x100m and men’s javelin through Keshorn Walcott

Bermuda (one silver), St Vincent & The Grenadines (one silver), Barbados (one silver), Antigua & Barbuda (one bronze) and Puerto Rico (one bronze) also registered medals.

Jamaica Basketball Association President Paulton Gordon hopes the recently concluded P.H.A.S.E 1 Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball League at the National Arena in Kingston will revitalize interest in the sport locally.

“Well, I’m hoping that it gives it a shot in the arm,” Gordon said in an interview with Sportsmax.TV on Saturday.

“Coming out of the pandemic, we wanted an activity that would stimulate interest and create more awareness as it relates to basketball and I think this will do it,” he added.

The league was the first of its kind to be played in the Caribbean and Gordon says he’s glad that Jamaica was able to be a part of history.

“Bringing pro basketball to Jamaica has always been our intention. We decided that we’d try to do a pilot during the summer and, based on the feedback, I think we have accomplished most of our objectives,” he said.

“The players are excited; the fans are coming out and entertainment around the games has been good. We’ve gotten good feedback as it relates to the packaging and production of the event from overseas and I think we’re on our way,” he added.

With the presence of both North American and local players in the teams, Gordon says he’s also encouraged by the lack of a skill gap between the two sets of players.

“I had some discussions with some of the coaches and some of the GMs. What I’m happy about is that there isn’t a big disparity between the North American players and our local players. The teams have integrated quite well and, just looking on, there’s not much difference you can see between the skill level of the overseas players and our local players,” he said.

Elite 1 Horizon are the champions of the inaugural P.H.A.S.E 1 Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball League after defeating Elite 1 Storm 82-71 in the championship game at the National Arena in Kingston on Saturday.

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.

2020 Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper and 2022 World Indoor silver medallist Devynne Charlton both advanced to the final of the Women’s 100m hurdles at the NACAC Open Championships in Freeport, the Bahamas on Friday.

Jamaica’s Tapper qualified fastest with a 12.62 effort to win semi-final one while Charlton of the Bahamas finished second in the second semi-final in 12.76 to advance. Puerto Rico’s Paola Vazquez (13.34) and Cuba’s Acevedo Lopez (13.43) also advanced to the final.

Costa Rica’s Gerald Drummond (49.68), BVI’s Kyron McMaster (49.77), Jamaica’s Shawn Rowe (50.27), Cuba’s Lazaro Fernandez (50.37), The Bahamas’ Shakeem Smith (50.55) and Haiti’s Joshua Adhemar (52.21) all advanced to the final of the 400m hurdles.

In the 200m, Jamaica’s Natalliah Whyte (22.78) and Ashley Williams (23.67) both advanced to the Women’s final along with The Bahamas’ Tynia Gaither (22.82), Trinidad & Tobago’s Mauricia Prieto (23.48) and Reyare Thomas (24.00) and Grenada’s Amanda Crawford (24.32).

On the Men’s side, Jamaica’s Andrew Hudson was the fastest qualifier to the final with 20.25. He’ll be joined in the event by teammate Jazeel Murphy (20.80), Trinidad & Tobago’s Kyle Greaux (20.68), The Bahamas’ Ian Kerr (20.89), Antigua & Barbuda’s Darrion Skerritt (21.17) and Bermuda’s Suresh Black (21.42).

In the field, Jamaica’s O’Dayne Richards threw 20.05m for bronze in the men’s shot put behind Americans Roger Steen (20.78m) and Adrian Piperi (20.76m).

The region also got silver and bronze in the men’s triple jump thanks to Bermuda’s Jah Nhai Perinchief (15.89m) and Antigua & Barbuda’s Taeco O’Garro (15.70m). Gold went to the USA’s Chris Bernard with 16.40m.

Elite 1 Horizon and Elite 1 Waves both secured wins on day three of the P.H.A.S.E 1 Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball League at the National Arena in Kingston on Wednesday.

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.

Sara Misir, the Caribbean’s first Formula Woman finalist, overcame a late car switch on Saturday to win all three races in the Modified Production 3 Class at the Dover Raceway in St. Ann on Sunday.

Misir’s car caught fire during testing on Saturday.

“I had a scare before race day on Saturday where my engine caught fire, so I had to switch cars at the last minute,” Misir explained.

Despite the setback, she qualified in pole position and then scored maximum points in all three races in her class. The victories which mirrored her performance at Dover in July represented fulfilment for the trailblazing driver.

“I always look forward to competing at Dover and, for me, it’s about testing my speed and seeing how much I have improved each time I race,” Misir said.

“I’m happy for the wins on Sunday despite the setback on Saturday.”

Winning her second hat-trick of races in consecutive meets at Dover is a testament to her continuing growth as a race car driver.  Her coach and father, Rugie Misir, explained that the maturity from racing in the United Kingdom has been evident in her performances at Dover this year.

“For the first time, I see her driving to the capacity of the car and her confidence is high. She’s more focused and more mature and it shows in her performance over the last two meets,” said Misir who is also president of the Jamaica Go Karting Association.

He also explained what went wrong with his daughter’s car during testing on Saturday.

“Her car had a damaged rod in the master cylinder on Saturday which overheated the rotor and set the brake ducts on fire,” he said.

“It was minimally damaged but rendered unusable for this meet, so we reverted to the BMW which is slower by five seconds over each lap,” he added.

World 100m Champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will clash with British 2019 World 100m silver medallist Dina Asher-Smith in the blue-ribbon event at the Brussels Diamond League meeting on September 2.

Jamaica’s Fraser-Pryce, who won her fifth world title in Eugene last month, has run world leading times at the last two Diamond League stops in Silesia and Monaco.

Unbeaten in the 100m this season, the Jamaican has produced six sub 10.7 times so far and will look to add a seventh and book a spot in the Diamond League final in Zurich on September 7-8.

Asher-Smith, who won gold in the 200m at the 2019 World Championships in Doha to go along with her 100m silver, has a season’s best of 10.83 which she ran to finish fourth at the World Championships in Eugene.

Marie-Josee Ta Lou, who sped to a personal best and African record 10.72 to finish third behind Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson in Monaco, will also be in the race as well as the USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson.

Elite 1 Horizon and Elite 1 Storm both moved to 2-0 in the P.H.A.S.E 1 Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball League as action continued on day two at the National Arena in Kingston on Sunday.

In the first game of the day, Elite 1 Horizon tackled Elite 1 Waves in an exciting encounter. Contrary to the Horizons’ first game on Saturday where they secured a dominant victory over the Rivers, they went into the half against the Waves facing a 34-40 deficit.

The third quarter proved pivotal, however, as they outscored the Waves 20-9 to go into the final period with a 54-49 lead, a lead they held until the end, securing a 76-61 victory. Rasheed Maynard was man-of-the-match with 16 points, three assists and five steals.

The second game of the day between the Storm and the Rivers was exciting to say the least, with only four points separating the teams in the end.

The Storm got off to a strong start in the opening quarter, closing with a 31-24 lead before having an even more dominant second quarter to lead 63-44 at halftime.

Something clicked in the second half for the Rivers, however, and they outscored their opponents 29-23 in the third quarter to set up an intriguing final 12 minutes.

The Rivers also won those final 12 minutes 32-23 but, unfortunately for them, the lead the Storm built in the first half proved too much in the end, the final score being 109-105.

Drelan Tripplett was the man-of-the-match after scoring 23 points on an efficient 7-8 from the field with two assists and four rebounds.

Day three takes place on Wednesday with the Rivers and Waves opening the show trying to get in the win column while the undefeated Storm and Horizon will square off in the second game.

It was a packed house at the National Arena in Kingston for the start of the P.H.A.S.E 1 Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball League on Saturday.

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.

Sunshine Girl and Commonwealth Games silver medalist Shadian Hemmings has announced her retirement from international netball, Netball Jamaica announced in an Instagram post on Monday.

“Thank you Shadian. We wish you all the best in your next chapter,” the post said.

“Not sure I’ll be able to find words. Going off with a bang! A silver medal is a great accomplishment. Proud of my team. I guess it’s time to go back to watching you on my T.V. I would say until next time but I guess it’s goodbye,” Hemmings wrote on her own page.

The Sunshine Girls won silver at the Commonwealth games in Birmingham, England after a narrow 51-55 defeat to Australia on Sunday.

The West Indies suffered a crushing 59-run defeat to India in Lauderhill on Saturday, falling to an unassailable 1-3 series deficit in the process.

After winning the toss and electing to field first, the hosts felt the wrath of the Indians from the outset with openers Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav speeding to 53 without loss after just 4.4 overs before Sharma was dismissed for a 16-ball 33 including two fours and three sixes.

Yadav’s dismissal for 24 in the sixth over then paired Deepak Hooda and Rishabh Pant who added a further 47 before Hooda’s wicket fell for 21 in the 12^th over to leave the score on 108-3.

Pant went on to top-score with 44 before his dismissal in the 15^th over. Sanju Samson (30 not out), Axar Patel (20 not out) and Dinesh Karthik (6) then combined to put the finishing touches on a fine effort with the bat for India, ending 191-5 from their 20 overs.

Alzarri Joseph was the pick of the bowlers for the Windies with 2-29 from his four overs.

The hosts then struggled throughout their reply thanks to some excellent bowling by India and some questionable decision-making by the batsmen.

Brandon King (13) and Kyle Mayers (14) both got starts but fell cheaply while captain Nicholas Pooran sprinted to 24 off just eight balls before he was run out after a mix-up with Mayers.

Rovman Powell with a quick 24, Shimron Hetmyer (19) and Jason Holder (13) were the only other batsmen to reach double-figures as the Windies struggled to a paltry 132 all-out after 19.1 overs.

Arshdeep Singh led the way for the Indians with 3-12 from 3.1 overs while he got good support from Avesh Khan (2-17) and Ravi Bishnoi (2-27).