P.h.a.s.e 1 is the winner of the inaugural Jamaica Basketball Showcase title. They defeated Caribbean Basketball Academy (CBA) 59 - 46 in the final on Saturday at the UTECH Auditorium.
P.h.a.s.e 1 went through the preliminary round winning all four of their matches to get to the top of the table. Their scores read: 51-35 winners over Central Warriors, 42-34 winners over CBA, 49-43 winners over Lignum Vitae and 49-41 winners over Hummingbirds.
CBA on the other hand was 3 - 1 going into the final match. Their scores were: CBA 55 - Hummingbirds - 37, Lost to P.h.a.s.e 1 - 34 – 42, 39 - 36 win over Central Warriors and a triple overtime win 80 - 75 over Blue Mahoe.
Roman Parks of Lignum Vitae was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Other sectional prizes went to: Rebounds - Roman Parks (Lignum Vitae), Top Scorer - Alex Levy (Blue Mahoe), Most Steals - Maliek McCarthy (Blue Mahoe) & Anthony White (P.h.a.s.e 1), Most Free Throws - Roman Parks (Lignum Vitae) and Most Blocks - Nicholai Brown (P.h.a.s.e. 1).
Parks lamented that although his team came close to getting into the final “I was happy to be able to play in a tournament.” That is the sentiment of the players.
The majority of each team were players 23 and under; while they had two older players drafted per team.
The Showcase honored six stalwarts who have contributed to the all-round development of the game. The six honorees were - Mrs Elaine Barker, Simone Edwards, Roger Marshall, Howard McCatty, Gordon Porter and Dr Howard Harvey.
This was the first competition since March 2020 and JaBA president, Paulton Gordon was complimentary to Sports Innovators Group (SIG), organizers of the event; while CEO of SIG, Paul Campbell, is looking forward for this event to be on the calendar.
The tournament featured 75 players, 15 team officials, 6 referees, four table officials and a list of volunteers supported by GC Foster College.
Special guests for the event came from 30 young boys and girls from the Majesty Garden community. Sponsor partners featured were Express Fitness, KFC, A Peart Advisory Services. GKMS Online (Western Union), Mailpac and Suretime Medical.
Tournament information may be found https://sportsinnovatorsgroup.com/jbs2022/
LeBron denies target date for return but is 'working around the clock'
LeBron James denied reports he has set a target date to return from injury but insists he is "working around the clock" to get back.
James has been absent since suffering a tendon injury in his foot during a February 26 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, with the franchise initially saying he would be re-evaluated in three weeks' time.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham recently suggested he expected his star player to return before the playoffs.
Reports on Thursday then claimed the 38-year-old had been evaluated and was looking to be back for the final week of the NBA regular season.
However, James denied those stories on social media, writing: "There wasn't an evaluation today and there hasn't been any target date for my return.
"I'm just working around the clock, every day (three times a day) to give myself to best chance of coming back full strength, whenever that is. God bless y'all sources. I speak for myself!"
James has an average of 29.5 points per game this season from 47 games, as well as 6.9 assists and 8.4 rebounds.
It would be a welcome development for the Lakers, who remain in a tight race to make the playoffs after their 122-111 win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, with a record of 36-37 and sitting 10th in the Western Conference.
They have nine games remaining of the regular season, with their final outing a home clash with the Utah Jazz on April 9.
'My best ATO of the year!' – Kerr jokes as Mavericks fume over Warriors' uncontested dunk
Steve Kerr was amused by the flashpoint in the Golden State Warriors' 127-125 win over the Dallas Mavericks that had their opponents plotting a protest.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban complained of the "worst officiating non-call mistake possibly in the history of the NBA", but Warriors coach Kerr was confident there was nothing amiss.
The Mavericks took a timeout late in the third quarter and believed they had possession of the ball, asserting they were told as much by the game officials.
What transpired was a referee call that led to Warriors center Kevon Looney scoring an uncontested dunk from a Jordan Poole inbound pass to make it 90-87 with 1:56 left in the third.
The Dallas players were not in position, leading to protests from Cuban and coach Jason Kidd, but the dunk stood.
Kerr teasingly said it was his season's standout ATO – after timeout.
"Number one, it was my best ATO of the year. It worked brilliantly, just the way we got organised and confused them," he said.
More seriously, he added: "I had to stop. When I saw them at the other end, I had to stop and think, 'Isn't this our basket?', because I had drawn up a play for an out-of-bounds [play] underneath, a baseline out-of-bounds.
"When they were down at the other end I had to stop and think, 'Is this right?'.
"I don't know what happened. You'd have to ask their side. I thought it was pretty clear that it was our ball and that's why I was drawing up a play out-of-bounds on the baseline.
"But they all lined up at the other end. I guess they assumed it was their ball."
Looney, who benefitted from the confusion, said: "I didn't know what was going on. I'm just glad JP passed to me because I needed that to get to my double-double."
'This is what movies is made of' – Towns euphoric at dramatic Timberwolves return
Karl-Anthony Towns marked his return to action with a Hollywood ending as a pair of last-gasp free throws handed the Minnesota Timberwolves a 125-124 win against the Atlanta Hawks.
With 3.6 seconds left on the clock, Towns had ice in his veins as he made both his shots to put Minnesota decisively ahead.
There was still time left for Atlanta's Saddiq Ben to be impeded by Taurean Prince, but a foul was not given, with a game official reportedly later saying that was an error.
That could have seen Towns denied his returning glory, having featured for the first time since November 28.
Sidelined by a calf strain for almost four months, the first pick in the 2015 NBA Draft scored 22 points in his comeback game on 8-of-18 shooting.
"This is what movies is made of," Towns said in an on-court interview with Bally Sports. "Four months away, two free throws, don't worry about it, I got that!"
In a later press conference, the 27-year-old thanked coach Chris Finch for backing him.
Towns was the player fouled to set up the game-winning chance, trusting himself to get the job done.
"I was smiling a lot just in my mind," Towns said. "On the court I probably didn't show it, but even before I got the ball with seven seconds left I was smiling.
"I just had a good feeling that the game was going to go the way I wanted it to, so the play was immediately drawn up for me.
"Finch looked at me with everyone around and said, 'You're going to get the ball, and it's yours to take home'.
"So shout out to Finch having that confidence in me after 51 games [out of action] and all the things I've had to deal with."
Towns added: "When I went up there for two free throws I looked back and he was telling people, 'He ain't missing, I'm telling you that right now', and I just knew in my bones I wasn't going to miss.
"I've worked too hard on my game. I've been in those moments too many times.
"I got told I didn't have one fast heartbeat at all. I felt pretty confident, I felt pretty calm. I feel like I had that Jaden McDaniels demeanour up there, and I was just going up and making those shots."
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