TRI – Defense Force wins club championships

[by Albert LEE YOUNG] – A strong showing by the top teams in the National Basketball Federation of Trinidad & Tobago (NBFTT) Club Championships has led to a surge in popularity that could bring a new era for the sport.

In the finals played in front of capacity crowds, the Trinidad & Tobago Defense Force won both the men and women’s championships in two keenly contested final series.

Led by their national duo of Ronda John-Davis and Alicia Liverpool, Defense Force women won a very tough best of five series (62-53, 73-71 and 72-71) against arch rivals Straker Nets with 6-6 national center Patrice Edwards in control.

Despite having a relatively quiet scoring game, veteran forward Stacy Sparks turned heroine for Defence Force with just 0.7 seconds left. With the score levelled at 71, Sparks was fouled whilst driving to the basket and scored her second attempt to snatch a 72-71 victory. For the army team, John-Davis had a game high 38 points whilst Alicia Liverpool added 23 points. Edwards posted a strong performance of 35 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets.

As for the men’s playoffs, national forward Steven Lewis lit-up the finals with an outstanding performance in game seven, scoring 29 points as Defense Force roll past Detour Shak Attack 83-61 despite trailing 17-7 early in the first quarter. With the series level 3-3 following a 77-73 victory by Shak Attack in game six, the stage was set for an exciting climax to the championships between the two top arch rivals.

For the newly crowned champs, Derrick Boxhill contributed 16 points and 6 assists while Shak Attack's was offense was led by national point guard Kurt Christian with 17pts, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.

Following the championships, NBFTT president Brian Manning, issued a press release stating “the tournament was an undeniable success and capped the beginning of a revolution in local basketball. The National Basketball Championships is the marquee event on the NBFTTs calendar; it is a showcase for the best basketball talent that Trinidad and Tobago has to offer and is designed to attract fans, sponsors, and young people to the sport.”

Mr. Manning also pointed out that the fantastic Defence Force / Detour Shak Attack finals could affect the local game and introduce unparalleled growth, financial opportunities for teams, and fuel the NBFTTs youth development programmes.

He challenged Corporate Trinidad & Tobago to realise the huge fan base that local basketball possesses and the high regard basketball players are held in their respective communities. He boasted that it was arguably the greatest basketball tournament held in the history of Trinidad & Tobago and has succeeded in solidifying the positive position of Trinidad & Tobago basketball in the national consciousness.

This year’s championships were sponsored by local telecommunications giant, B-mobile with live television & radio broadcasts.

The championships also served as a warm-up for some of the top local based players to display their talent as Trinidad and Tobago has qualified for both the men and women’s Centrobasket Championships and CAC Games this summer.