Pinelands capture Summer Jam Under-19 title

A game-high 29 points from finals MVP, Orange 3 Pinelands’ Rasheed Maynard, propelled his team to their first Summer Jam Under-19 title at the Barbados Community College on Wednesday night.

Playing in the Barbados Amateur Basketball Association’s tournament, Pinelands handed Clapham Bulls A their only loss of the tournament with a 98-84 finish.

Both teams had impressive victories in the semi-finals, but with Bulls’ big man Amal Smith in constant foul trouble and being forced to sit on the bench, Pinelands brought out the sharp shooters for the night.

After the early moments of the game, Pinelands assumed the lead and never trailed after that, despite the best efforts of the Bulls who went on mini runs to close the gap.

But Kiserian Adams and Maynard combined for 20 points in the first quarter alone, which saw their team also hitting five strikes from beyond the arc.

This helped them drop an impressive 30 points in the quarter to lead 30-22.

It was the plot of the game which continued from buzzer to buzzer, each time the Bulls made a run, Pinelands’ sharp shooters came to the fore to maintain a double digit lead.

Even with a double digit lead late in the final quarter, there was no easing up for Pinelands as they applied a full court press at times to ensure that the Bulls players did not get any easy buckets.

Maynard, who controlled the game for his team, was well supported by Adams who finished with 22 points, despite going scoreless in the third quarter.

They were also supported by Deroni Hurley with 17 points and Rachad Hall with 10.

For the Bulls, Andrew Ifill scored 23 points, while Shaquan Newton had 20, Christopher Collymore 15 and Shaquan Carrington had 11.

Coach of the team Renaldo Maughn said that they have been working hard all season and in practice, but despite that they also had a game plan as they entered the final against their rivals.

Maughn said that in the four-year history of the tournament it was the first time they have won the title, a feat of which they are very proud.
(CG)