The second round of matches in the Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball Winter League began as scheduled at 6:00 pm on Wednesday at the National Arena to a very involved and noisy set of spectators, with defending champion Horizon getting the better of the Waves and Storm defeating Rivers in contrasting fashion.
Horizon continued its winning ways and is now the sole leader with two wins after two rounds. They were pressured by the Waves who lead the first two quarters 24-16 and 37-34 and well into the third quarter before drawing level 54 a piece, and then inching past them with 4:42 to go in the fourth quarter and take the match 86-79 in a ding dong battle between the teams.
The top performers for Horizon were MVP for the previous competition Bobby Gray (22 points), Rasheed Maynard (17 points) and Nicholai Brown (11 points).
Cleon Morgan, coach of Horizon was pleased with the result "we started out slow compared to the previous game but we had a strategy even though the opponents were leading but the objective was to chip it little by little as we go along. Going into the third quarter we were also down but we started to chip it. We adjusted the defense a little, it worked for us and so we were able to pull off a victory today (Wednesday)."
The Waves came into the match on a high from its win against the Rivers in the first round. They were quick on the court with some smart plays but were eventually pegged back by Horizon. Waves' top scorers were Cameron Burhannan (40 points), Marin Dixon Green (14 points) and Lushane Wilson (10 points).
The other match-up pitched the Rivers against the Storm. They were looking for their first win, having both lost to Waves and Horizon respectively in the first round. The Storm came out blazing with a 35/7 first quarter but the Rivers outscored them 37-19 in the second quarter to close out the half at 44-54. The Storm re-grouped in the third quarter to extend their lead to 17 and end the quarter 79-62 in their favor after allowing the Rivers to come within three points in the quarter. The Rivers made a run 33-24 again in the fourth quarter but could not catch the Storm who posted 102 for the win to Rivers' 96.
The Storm's Brandon "BDot" Armstrong (31 points), Jayrn Johnson (25 points), Da'Rell Domine (17 points) and Roshane O'Brian (14 points) were the top scorers, while Ricky Shaford (27 points), Anthony Ottley (27 points) and Tre Brewer (25 points) were the main contributors the Rivers' score.
According to the Storm's coach Oneil Brown who spoke after the match, "I feel great. After the first game I must show respect to the guys who came back after the first game loss. They showed character and come out here and changed the way they played. This is a pro league, this is what pro teams do. We made adjustments and we changed the entire thing yesterday at practice because the first game did not work. We came out here with a plan and my team executed the plan and I am grateful for the victory." He credited top scorer BDot and Johnson and the entire team who stepped up their performance, for winning the match.
The four-team competition roster boasts overseas based pros from the USA, Canada and Barbados and fifty percent Jamaican amateurs.
The next set of matches on the four-team schedule will see Horizon taking on the winless Rivers while Storm will battle Waves on Saturday at the National Arena. The first match is scheduled for start at 6:00 pm while the second match will start at 8:00 pm.
Kerr demands improvements from Team USA as Olympic opener looms
United States coach Steve Kerr wants to see higher levels of intensity from his team as their Olympics campaign approaches.
Kerr was unhappy with the lacklustre displays from his side in their warm-ups against Germany and South Sudan.
Germany led 71-68 at the end of the third quarter before LeBron James conjured up 11 points in the final four minutes to give the USA a 92-88 win, while South Sudan were 20 seconds away from pulling off one of the biggest shocks in basketball history, before eventually falling to a 101-100 loss.
The USA face a dangerous Serbia side featuring reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic on Sunday, and Kerr is adamant that improvements are required if they are to win a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
He said: "It's got to be 40 minutes of force and attention and focus, and we can't let teams outplay us effort and energy-wise like we did the other night against Germany, like we did against South Sudan.
“We have another level. I think we have another two levels that we can get to, but it's a collaboration, always.
"We can show them, 'Let's do this, let's do that. Let's learn personnel.'
"We got to know the shooters, know the non-shooters, all that stuff. So that's where we can help them. Where they can help themselves is just effort and energy play after play, after play. This is different."
Kerr is a four-time NBA champion as a coach, and was part of the triumphant Olympics team in Tokyo in 2021, but the Golden State Warriors boss knows the experience of the Games will only be enhanced if the USA were to come out on top again.
"This should be one of the great experiences of our lives. But the best way to make it an incredible experience is to win a gold medal," he said.
After facing Serbia, the USA will once again go up against South Sudan, this time in a competitive format, before ending the group stage with a match against Puerto Rico.
Durant warns Team USA 'everybody is a contender' in Olympic basketball tournament
Kevin Durant has warned Team USA they will not have an easy ride through the basketball tournament at the Paris Olympic Games, declaring: "Everybody is a contender".
The United States will go in search of a fifth straight men's basketball gold in the French capital, where they open their Group C campaign against Serbia on Sunday.
After that meeting with Nikola Jokic and company, the star-studded USA team featuring Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and a host of other NBA stars take on South Sudan and Puerto Rico.
With Steve Kerr having so much talent at his disposal, the roster has been compared to that of the 1992 'Dream Team', who took gold in Barcelona behind the efforts of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen and other great names.
However, at a press conference ahead of Team USA's 2024 opener, Curry reminded reporters that the class of 1992 only faced nine other active NBA players.
Durant is expecting a much tougher assignment this year, responding to Curry by saying: "Everybody is a contender. Everyone is here for a reason.
"We're playing against 65 or 64 NBA players in Paris. So you know they're the best in the world."
Asked to identify the main players to watch from other nations, the Phoenix Suns forward said: "Giannis [Antetokounmpo] or Jokic."
While Durant adopted a cautious tone, Golden State Warriors star Curry was more bullish regarding the USA's gold medal hopes.
Quizzed on who he was most excited about facing, Curry simply said: "Whoever's in the gold medal game."
Knicks, head coach Thibodeau agree to three-year contract extension
The New York Knicks and head coach Tom Thibodeau have agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.
New York went 50-32 last season to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference before losing to the Indiana Pacers in the semi-finals of the play-offs.
The Knicks were also ousted in the East semis in 2022-23 and reached the play-offs during Thibodeau’s first season in 2021-22, when he won his second NBA Coach of the Year award.
Prior to 2021-22, New York’s previous post-season appearance came in 2013.
The Knicks have gone 175-143 over the last four seasons under Thibodeau, who earned his first NBA Coach of the Year award in 2011 as a rookie head coach with the Chicago Bulls.
The 66-year-old Thibodeau owns a 527-389 record in 12 seasons as a head coach with Chicago, the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York.
His teams have gone 38-47 in the post-season, and Thibodeau’s only appearance in the conference finals came in his rookie head coach season.
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
