The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Street Legends Organisation embarked on new territory this weekend when they hosted their first inter-school event, the “Private vs Government Schools Scholarship Quest.”

The group, spearheaded by Wilton Russell, hosted the three-day tournament in conjunction with the Ministry of Education at the AF Adderley Gym and awarded a $12,000 scholarship to the most valuable player of the senior boys’ division championship on Sunday night.

In the tournament finale, Noble Prepatory Academy claimed the title with a 57-50 win over defending Hugh Campbell champions, the CC Sweeting Cobras.

Noble Prep’s Delroy Grandison was named the MVP and scholarship recipient.

“For our first time out, I thought that this event was a major hit. I have to thank the Ministry of Education Sports Unit, the sponsors of this event and Noble Preparatory Academy who were so important in getting something this event off the ground,” Russell said.

“We want to establish something legendary with this event because we feel like it provides an incredible opportunity for these young players to use this game we all love to get ahead. For many of them we know that basketball represents the hopes and dreams of them getting an education and this could represent the way forward. This is a way for them to start channelling that energy and focus on where they intend to go when they approach the end of their high school career. The whole idea behind this programme is to get them to target a life surrounding tertiary education, and start things that way from as early as grade nine or 10.”

Russell noted that the high level of competition grabbed the attention of several of the visiting scouts in town for the tournament.

“We had some keen competition for three days and a lot of the marquee games in the championship round on our final night came down to just a few points in the game’s closing moments,” he said. “Although they may not have been targeting them, the scouts, a lot of them were saying they see great players but they still need more work, more reps and need some polishing up. The impression that I got they were impressed with Delroy, with a few of the kids from CC Sweeting and in general there was a lot of talk about what’s happening in the country in terms of basketball growth. Delroy put on a spectacular show, that kid jumped out the gym.”

Championship night saw several other crossover champions crowned after the government and private schools reached the top of their respective divisions.

In the junior boys’ title game, Harbour Island continued their momentum from the Father Marcian Peters tournament and claimed the championship with a 30-17 win over the HO Nash Lions.

In the junior girls’ division, HO Nash was able to defeat Freedom Baptist 19-16 to split the championships among juniors.

In the primary boys’ title game, St Thomas More dominated EP Roberts, 29-16, led by Lucandre Paul who finished with nine points and six rebounds.

“We are already in the planning stages for next year because we want to see this tournament continue to grow in leaps and bounds with each passing year. We started a little late this year, we just want to find out ways how we can get some serious funding behind this venture. Our intention to have over 20 scouts on the island for next year, to give our young kids an opportunity to get some exposure,” Russell said.

“We know one of the main problems is that there are not sufficient games that players over here get to play. The average team plays about 10-12 games per season and that’s if the weather holds up so they are completely short-handed when you compare it to the United States where they are expected to compete for spots against players who play 30-40 games a year. Tournaments like these will help to even the playing field.”

The scholarship came about through the partnership between the Street Legends Organisation and Geno Bullard’s Noble Preparatory Academy.

Bullard is also the international recruiter for Niagra College in Southern Ontario, Canada.