Derion Hurley had his best game of the 2020 BABA season with 35 points in the President’s Cup win over City United Celtics 94-67.
BABA President’s Cup Final Four tonight
Tonight, the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex will see the Station Hill Cavaliers continue their defense of the Barbados Amateur Basketball Association President’s Cup as they take on KFC Orange 3 Pinelands while the Burger King Clapham Bulls face the Combined Schools Tridents.
Slated for the second matchup of the evening, Station Hill, the first defending champions, will meet Pinelands in the first game of the two game series.
Station Hill murdered the Church Village Spartans 107-54 on Sunday afternoon to claim their final four spot. The Cavs won the new format series by a total margin of +90 points but will face a way bigger opponent in Pinelands tonight.
Pinelands barely edged City United Celtics in their first game, winning by 2 points but slaughtered the upstarts on Sunday night by 27 points, 94-67 to advance overall by +23 points. Pinelands were without point guard Deroni Hurley, out sick, but his brother Derion Hurley had an outstanding 40 minutes. Hurley finished with a season best 35 points, shooting 7 of 13 from beyond the arc and added 4 steals on the defensive end. Rachad Hall played well for City, with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
The Burger King Clapham Bulls made light work of the Barbados Hilton Resort Warriors who continue to have one of their worst seasons in history. The 91-57 victory cemented a +29 point graduation to the semi final round. Guards Rahiim Gibbons and Kelan Phillips were good for 25 and 19 points respectively in the win. The win puts them up against the Combined Schools Tridents who fought back late to throw the Barbados Lumber Company Lakers out of the competition, overall by a narrow +3.
The Tridents won Game 1, 72-67 and a 3 point shot with seconds remaining by Brandon Ruck saw them lose Game 2 64-66 but win the series. It will be a tall order for the Tridents against the Bulls, especially after a thorough beat down they received in round one of the league. However, Combined Schools have skillful up and coming talent and an upset win could be on the cards. (AS)