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Rising Stars rose to the top to take home the E-Z Pave, KFC, BABA Summer Jam U23 3x3 competition. (from left) Rachad Hall, Deroni Hurley, Rasheed Maynard and Keserian Adams.

Young stars rise to the occasion

It was somewhat of a family affair as the two brothers on opposing teams locked horns in the finals of the E-Z Pave, KFC Barbados Amateur Basketball Association Summer Jam 3x3 competition, but it was the younger Deroni Hurley and the Rising Stars who took it all.

Rising Stars were crowned champions at the Barbados Community College gym after they defeated Dream Chasers 21-13 in the final game of the Summer Jam summer of youth competitions for 2017.

Deroni Hurley, Keserian Adams, Rasheed Maynard and Rachad Hall fought against what was a bigger and stronger team physically in Dream Chasers. Adams, Hurley and Maynard, technically defending their crown which they won in last year’s competition under a different name, with Hall taking home his first title on his birthday.

The older brother Derion Hurley, Joel Hunte, Justin Pile and Kadeem Brathwaite put up a good fight and kept it competitive in the U-23 final. However, Maynard was unstoppable in the flow of the Rising Stars side, scoring a game high 13 of his team’s 21 points with four two-pointers, including the game winning shot as time ran out over the outstretched hand of defender Hunte. Adams also finished with seven points but it was the accuracy of passing and shooting combined with constant moving on the court that won the youngsters the game.

In order to reach the finals, Dream Chasers defeated DC FM 16-13 in a close match which went down to the final minute; while Rising Stars took down More Life 18-10 in the second semi.

There was also a free throw competition which was won by Adams of Rising Stars, which means that on the night he was twice a champion. The shooting competition went down to an extra round as all the competitors shot 4 of 6 from the line. Adams then was the only shooter that went perfect from the line, three of three to seal his victory. Roderick Massiah of More Life was the fastest to complete the skills challenge on the BCC court, finishing in 27 seconds.

All in all the summer was a packed one for the youth in the BABA Summer Jam U-16, U-19 and U-23 3x3 competitions. The final evening was well organised and flowed smoothly with on point officiating and an exciting atmosphere. With more good planning and support from corporate Barbados, the future of local youth basketball – which holds the reins for the resurgence of Barbados on the regional scene – looks to be on the right track.

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