Premier League bounces off tonight

IT will be a thrilling evening as the Co-operators General Insurance, Barbados Amateur Basketball Association Premier League gets under way at the Barbados Community College with new blood taking the court today.

The newly promoted champions of the 2019 Co-operators General Insurance First Division League, Church Village Spartans will be welcomed to the higher echelons of local basketball by the Combined Schools Tridents at 6 p.m. Spartans had to fight hard for a long-awaited promotion, but the long road paid off in the end with their ascension. With a core of experienced big men, Spartans added youth, including the First Division Most Valuable Player Theo Greenidge, to get them over the edge.

For the 2020 Premier League season, Spartans have added former D-1 Player Elihu Diaz. Point-guard Diaz will be a great addition to the team alongside Greenidge and will likely help the side be a challenge to the heavily experienced teams they will face.

Coach of the Spartans, Edmund Brathwaite, spoke to The Barbados Advocate about Diaz and announced that veteran Dale Franklyn would not be playing at the Premier level.

“We have a couple new guys. We have an exciting point guard from Ross University and this guy is going to make some noise in the Premier League. We also have added a couple young and energetic players because most of the older guards who played Division 1 will not be playing. They will look to play Second Division. We also will not be playing with Frankie (Franklyn), Ryan Maycock and Ryan Collins, so we are going with a younger crew.”

Brathwaite then highlighted the fact that Greenidge was training hard and had improved his game, shooting more consistently and was even faster than the previous year. The championship coach said that he believed that the Spartans would help make the Premier League exciting again by adding some spice to the tournament.

The Combined Schools Tridents will field a relatively new side as well, losing key players Kiserian Adams, Rasheed Maynard and Deroni Hurley, who have all moved on to KFC Orange 3 Pinelands. The first game of the league season promises to be an exciting one with the outcome being a toss up.

The second game also will be one to watch at 8 p.m. when the reigning league champions, the Burger King Clapham Bulls with the 2019 Premier League and Playoff Most Valuable Player Akeem Marsh, take on the reigning President’s Cup Knockout champs, the Station Hill Cavaliers. The battle will be a repeat of the league final and the Cavaliers will be out to wrangle the Bulls and start the season with a victory. The admission fee for the games is $5 for the public and $3 for registered players. (AS)