The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The Commonwealth Bank Giants came from a 2-0 deficit to sweep the MailBoat Cybots in the final three games and three-peat as the New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) champions.

As a result of their victory, the Giants will now pack their bags and join the New Providence Women's Basketball Association (NPWBA) champions Four J's Lady Cheetahs as they represent New Providence at the Bahamas Basketball Federation National Round Robin in Bimini this weekend.

Most valuable player Gamalial Rose had 18 points with a game high 16 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and three steals. And he said they were determined not to be denied.

"We had a game plan and that was to wear them down on the inside," said Rose, who had to sit down at the end of the third quarter with a slight head injury. "For me, the coach just told me to get the rebounds and that was what I did."

While Rose did his job, Michael 'Fernly' Bain came back after missing the last two games and he was a welcome sight for the Giants.

Bain canned a side high 26 points while Mark Hanna contributed 18 points with eight rebounds and Ricardo Pierre came through with 15 points.

But it was the play of point guard Adrian 'Log' Miller that made the difference down the stretch as he hit a clutch three-pointer that pushed Commonwealth Bank ahead 91-85 with 38.4 seconds left in the game.

"It feels great. With our star player out, we had to gut it out. With him back, we played like the heart of a champion," Miller said. "The Cybots were very hungry and we expected them to play us hard. But we were determined to win this one."

If there was any chance of a comeback for the Cybots, Bain put the nail in their coffin when he converted a pair of free throws for a 92-85 advantage. Then he put the icing on the cake with a three-point play with just 21.7 on the clock.

That turned out to be the final margin as the celebrations began for the Giants, who pulled the champagne out of the cooler and wore new white golf shirts with the words CB Giants Basketball printed on the front.

Coach Perry Thompson said it was simply a matter of going to practice and putting in the work. "When we came back in the third game, we realized that they were having problems with our 2-3 defense," Thompson said. "Eugene was a monster in the first two games that they won. So we came up with a different strategy that threw them off."

The game saw both teams make several runs with neither taking a significant lead. The Cybots led 23-21 after the first quarter and they held a 47-44 margin at the half. After the third quarter, their lead was only one point, 74-73. But the fourth quarter was the turning point.

Once the Giants opened an 80-76 lead two minutes into the fourth, they were able to control the tempo of the game, despite the fact that the MailBoat was still able to come back.

The two teams traded baskets until the Giants made their final surge in the final two minutes as they went on to secure the win.

While Commonwealth Bank celebrated, the Mailboat went through the agony of defeat.

Eugene Bain exploded for a game high 27 points with 13 rebounds and, for the most part, he was matched up against Rose. But even he couldn't stop the MVP, who played the entire fourth quarter with four fouls.

Joining Bain in double figures was Brian 'Tucker' Bain with 21 and Nelson 'Mandella' Joseph with 12. Ahmad Bootle and Tyrone Sands both chipped in with eight.

However, coach Wayde Watson said it will be a bitter pill to swallow for his Cybots.

"The amount of hours that we put into this and to come here and lose the championship, I don't know," Watson said. "It's going to be hard for us."

Watson admitted that after losing game three, they had a mental let down and even though they tried to rally up in game four, they just couldn't get it together.

But Bain said they stopped playing defense in the final two minutes and that made the difference in the outcome.

"The game came down to defense and, at the end, we just let Michael Bain run loose and we let Log run loose," he said.

"Defense wins championships and we didn't play any defense in the final two minutes.

"We won the first three quarters, but we let them get away in the fourth. Hats off to the Giants. They played hard. They deserve to win the title."