Caribbean Basketball Academy players celebrate after booking their spot in the semi-finals of the Jamaica Basketball Showcase on Friday.
Camperdown Giants, Purple Power Basketball, Hoops Factory Blues and the Caribbean Basketball Academy will contest the semi-finals of the 2023 Jamaica Basketball Showcase at UTECH on Saturday.
In an unfortunate turn of events for the defending champions, Phase 1 Academy, they entered day two thinking they had two wins in the bank but, after it was found that they used an ineligible player in both those games on Thursday, those results were overturned to wins for Purple Power Basketball and Hoop Factory Blues, respectively.
The day’s play began with the Caribbean Basketball Academy attempting to rebound from a pair of day one defeats.
Last year’s beaten finalists did just that with a comprehensive 56-41 victory over Hoop Factory Blues.
CBA enjoyed an 11-point lead at the half before an avalanche in the third quarter saw them stretch it to 24 to lead 50-26 heading into the final quarter.
Jahidi Campbell had 16 points and nine rebounds while Jaiden Brown had 15 points, nine assists and four steals for CBA. Joel Ricketts also provided support with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Nathan Ricketts led the Blues with 12 points and five assists.
The second game of the day saw Purple Power Basketball get their second win of the showcase with a 31-29 win over Blue Mahoe Basketball.
Jacqwaine Freeman led Purple Power with 18 points and five rebounds while Yahvarr Fearon had 12 points for Blue Mahoe.
Next up was a clash between Phase 1 Academy and the Camperdown Giants.
In an exciting contest, Phase 1 came out 48-45 winners for their first official victory.
Derjean Royal had 19 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals for Phase 1 while Micah Swaine led the Giants with a game-high 24 points.
After the break, Hoop Factory Blues bounced back from their loss earlier to book their spot in the semis with a 36-30 win over Purple Power Basketball for their third win.
Nathan Ricketts, once again, led the Blues with 13 points and a pair of steals while Jordan James had seven points and 10 rebounds. Tyreke Tummings had nine points for Purple Power.
Camperdown Giants were next to book a spot in the last four after rebounding from their defeat to Phase 1 Academy earlier in the day with a 51-45 overtime win over Blue Mahoe Basketball.
Micah Swaine led the way for the giants with 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Hubert Rodney had 14 points and nine rebounds for Blue Mahoe Basketball.
The day’s final game saw the Caribbean Basketball Academy pull out a hard-fought 43-41 win over Phase 1 Academy to book their spot in the semis. Both teams entered the contest knowing a win would see them advance to the last four.
CBA played an excellent first three quarters to go into the fourth and final period with a 36-28 lead before a ferocious Phase 1 fightback meant the teams were separated by just two points in the end.
Jaiden Brown had 21 points, five rebounds and three steals while Joel Ricketts had 13 points and 13 rebounds for CBA.
Romareo Mills had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the outgoing champions.
“We took the hardest route to get here,” said CBA coach Ludlow Barker after the game.
“Last night, we were really frank with each other. We had some heart to heart conversations and we came out today and did everything we needed to do,” he added
“One good thing about this tournament is you never know who is going to win,” Phase 1 Academy coach, Onecia Smellie, said after the game.
“Every single game, the boys came out and they played hard, win, lose or draw,” she added
The semis will see Camperdown Giants facing Purple Power while Hoops Factory Blues will oppose the Caribbean Basketball Academy before the two winners square off later on Saturday in the final.
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.
Leonard a doubt for Clippers' NBA opener
Kawhi Leonard has been ruled out for the rest of the Los Angeles Clippers’ preseason due to an ongoing knee issue.
The inflammation in his right knee has prevented him from playing any of their four preseason matches so far, including Monday's 110-96 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
The injury also saw him miss the final eight games of the last regular season, while he was limited to just two appearances in their six-game, first-round loss to Dallas in the postseason.
Clippers coach Ty Lue confirmed that Leonard will not play in their final warm-up game against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, and he is a doubt for their NBA season opener against the Phoenix Suns on October 23.
Meanwhile, former Clippers star Paul George suffered a hyperextended left knee injury in Monday's preseason 104-89 win against the Atlanta Hawks.
George was playing just his second game since joining the 76ers as a free agent on a four-year max contract, but planted his left leg awkwardly, jarring his knee.
He did not play the rest of the game, but when asked about the injury, he was not too worried.
"I felt that it hyperextended, and immediately it was, all right, I need to get taken out and [looked at], but if you ask me, I'm not too concerned about it," George told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The 76ers begin their NBA season against the Milwaukee Bucks on October 23.
James uncertain if he will team up with Curry again
LeBron James is uncertain if he will get the chance to play on the same team as fellow great Stephen Curry before one of the duo retires.
Curry and James teamed up for the first time to help Team USA win gold at the Paris Olympics this summer.
But with 39-year-old James and 36-year-old Curry in the twilight of their careers, the chances of them teaming up at another Olympics are slim.
Indeed, with James committed to the Los Angeles Lakers and Curry to the Golden State Warriors, the best fans can likely hope for is a joint All-Star appearance.
"I have no idea," James said ahead of the Lakers facing the Warriors in preseason.
James and Curry formed a thrilling NBA Finals rivalry between 2015 and 2018, facing off against each other 22 times.
"It was everything and more," James said of teaming up with Curry at the Olympics.
"I was super excited to be able to finally team up with him in a win-or-die type atmosphere. That's what it was, being a part of the Olympics.
"It was everything that I dreamed of and aspired to want to be a part of that team, along with Steph. Great memories. Something that I'll remember from my basketball career for the rest of my life, for sure.
"I understand what Steph has done for this game. I understand what he's done for his organisation, what he's done for the community, people all over the world.
"Just by his approach to the game and how he is as a man. How he is as a family man. How he is as a husband, a dad, a son, all that stuff.
"So when you have that type of respect for somebody and then you get to be around them every day and you see the way they work and how they treat their craft, it's a pretty cool thing. You're able to just respect that and not take it for granted."
Stewart proud of resilience after Liberty bounce back to level WNBA Finals
Breanna Stewart believes she showed resilience in bouncing back from New York Liberty's defeat in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, praising her team-mates for their support.
The Liberty avenged their shock defeat to the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday, this time holding off their comeback to win 80-66 in Game 2 on Sunday.
Stewart scored 21 points, adding eight rebounds and five assists, also setting a WNBA Finals single-game record with seven steals.
The two-time league MVP was disappointed with the performance in the opener but was much more upbeat after helping to level the series at 1-1.
"The moment the game ended Thursday, I was looking forward to Sunday," Stewart said.
"I can't strive to be the best, to be great, but then be afraid to fail. This is what happens when you put yourself in high-stress, important situations.
"You face possible failure. Yeah, I was upset because we could have won [Thursday's] game. But I'm happy I took the shots. Throughout this entire process, my team has my back every step of the way."
Having played the first two games at home, the Liberty now have two games at the Target Arena to look forward to.
"We embrace it; we like it when it's loud, when it's difficult," Stewart added of their trip to Minnesota. "Hopefully it's going to be an incredible atmosphere for both of those games.
"[It's about] not getting too high or too low; things are going to seem bigger than they are because they are playing at home. I'm sure Minny said the same thing when they're playing here."
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who struggled with knee injuries in the regular season, was also on top form, going 4 of 6 from 3-point range and finishing with 20 points for New York.
Having knocked down the 3-pointer to give the Liberty the lead ahead of their final surge, Laney-Hamilton is hopeful she will be able to build on this performance going forward.
"I think it gives me a little bit of momentum as we continue to go through the series," she said.
"It felt really good because I know I've been struggling, physically, mentally as I've been going through everything."
Game 3 takes place on Wednesday in Minnesota.
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