Challengers rout Kolij Seniors

CHALLENGER A completely took apart the Kolij Seniors in a comprehensive rinsing, to win 95-49 in the Barbados Amateur Basketball Association First Division competition.

The 46 point win was the largest margin of victory for the Challengers squad, as they were unrelenting throughout the game. The game was a physical one for two reasons. Firstly, the style of play by both teams was physical, where they both hustled for loose balls, as well as fought for rebounds on plays. There was pushing and plenty stare downs as the two teams went at it. Unfortunately for Kolij, they were falling short in that aspect, as well as the fitness category.

The Kolij Seniors were up to the task at least for the first half of the very first quarter, battling in the paint and a chase down block on one possession, but then fatigue set in. It was a slaughter from then on, and though substitutions were made, it was not enough rest for the players, who were stepping back onto the court. Players were breathing heavily, and some were so tired that they could neither run up the court on the offensive end nor get back on defence.

Davidson Francis had a rough time especially, being the biggest player that Kolij could field on the night, he was kept on the court for longer periods of time than he could handle. As a result, there were many possessions where Francis had to watch the plays from a distance on both ends, having no mental nor physical resolve left to take him where the action was on the court.

Francis did, however, play well when he was able to catch his breath and top scored for Kolij with 9 points. Point guard Dario McCollin had a hard time controlling the game, as his players were too tired to follow instructions well. McCollin finished with 8 points, with Jean Cumberbatch and Andrew Pilgrim scoring 7 and 6 points respectively.

For the victorious Challengers, Alwyn Lovell had the game high score of 25 points in a dominating performance on both ends. Lovell stole the ball from the less than confident Kolij players, and as he came back up the court from scoring on the fast break, Lovell let the opposition know that they “weren’t ready yet”.

Some would say that Lovell’s arrogance on the court is hard to tolerate, and that applies to his team-mates and spectators, but on the night, he backed up his talking with baskets and good all round play.
 Ramon Ward gave Lovell support with 17 points and Julian Grant had 12 and Nicholas Collymore 10. (AS)