The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The Pastors continued their winning streak, the professionals known as the ‘Beast’ were dominant and both No Bull and Showtime proved why they’re two of the best junior programmes as they all shined on the final day of 18th Annual Nelson Cooper ‘Peace on da Streets’ Basketball Classic.

The four-day tournament, which was held in memory of the late Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Charles Maynard, wrapped up at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium on Saturday with Abel Joseph upsetting American ‘The Werm’ for the slam dunk title.

Pastors 28, Politicians 20

There was a lot more praying than negotiating taking place in this game as the Pastors wanted to ensure that they kept their winning streak intact as they repeated as champions in the friendly rivalry.

Arthur Duncombe hit a three-pointer to give the Pastors a 4-0 lead and he ended up scoring a game high eight points. The Pastors, who never trailed in the game, also got four a piece from Reid, Delton Fernander and Dudley Seide, who once again came in from Grand Bahama to lend his support.

“This was what we set out to do. We set out with a goal of taking it to them and we stuck to the plan,” said Duncombe, who ended up injuring one of his fingers. “It was a team sport, so what we wanted to do was come in and let them know that we are more team oriented and not just individuals. Everybody played off each other and that was how we won.”

The Politicians, whose strategic plan of using more of the younger members didn’t work, were led by Khaalis Rolle, who worked his way inside for six points. He was assisted by both Anthony Moss and Renardo Curry with five each, but it wasn’t enough.

“We played extremely well for a team that didn’t practice. For a lot of people that are out of shape, I think we did extremely well,” Rolle said. “We just need more events like this to show the country that even though we are in different spheres of the divide, we can all work together for the betterment of the country.”

Beast 43, Pyramids 29

This one was over before it got started as the Beast, a team comprising of a mixture of professional and locally based players, were too much to handle. Their size made a huge difference.

Mitch Johnson scorched the nets for a game high 18 points, including 13 on 3-of-3 from the three-point line and Michael Bain also hit two three-pointers as he contributed all 10 of his points in the first half. Terran Cox helped out with six, while Keno Burrows played spectacularly on the defensive end.

“We came to play hard and to win, pure and simple,” said Johnson, as they made sure that history didn’t repeat itself after losing to Showtime in last year’s final. “The performance was alright. It wasn’t our best, but it was good enough to win.”

Eugene Bain, who was a tower of strength on the inside, had 12 and Abel Joseph chipped in with six in the loss.

Special Delivery 32, Temple Fellowship 30

The reign of success was over for Temple Fellowship as Neil Sands and Stephen Culmer delivered the knockout punch with 12 and eight respectively in the upset win.

“This is my first victory in Peace on Da Street. It’s excellent,” said Culmer, who stamped his approval on the package with a slam dunk with 52 seconds left for a 29-26 lead. “We could have played better, but was glad in the way the guys stuck together. We finally got one in Peace on Da Street.”

For Temple Fellowship, coached by Geno Campbell, Gaby Laurant and Ian Pinder had nine and five respectively in the loss.

No Bull 33, Stingers 30

This was probably the hardest fought victory, but in the second overtime period, Delroy Grandison made sure that the No Bull team would not have to waste any more time by sealing the deal a lay-up with just four seconds left.

In fact, it was Grandison who came through in the clutch at the end of regulation with a lay-up with 20 seconds left to tie the score at 25-25 and force the first extra two minutes.

The Stingers, coached by Stephen Strachan, extended the final OT when Rashad Swain canned a pair of free throws with just one second left to even the score at 29-29.

“The guys really dug deep to keep up the reputation of our club. It’s not how you start, but actually how you finish,” said No Bull’s coach Geno Bullard. “I didn’t expect the double overtime, but I knew they were going to play hard. We just tried to play hard and keep our composure down to the end.”

Grandison finished with a game high 13 and Daniel Bullard and Mikhail Rolle had eight each.

Swain and Stephen Strachan led the Stingers with 10 and nine in the loss.

Miller Time Ballers 21, Stingers 15

After taking a comfortable 14-5 lead at the half, the Ballers simply went on cruise control as Livingston Bromwell, Jonathan Armbrister and Travis Barnett all scored four in the16-and-under division win.

Marcian Higgins had seven in the loss.

Showtime 30, Hope Center 25

After opening up a 12-6 lead at the half, Showtime had to hold on for their lives as Hope Center rallied back to make it an exciting contest down the stretch.

Charles Rahming, who hit the key basket in the winding seconds, had 11 points, while Kristen Clarke, Joel Johnson and Mateo Taylor all helped out with five in the win,

“It feels good. We put in a lot of hard work this year, so it’s good to win again,” said Showtime’s coach Maurice Fawkes as they repeated as champions. “We lost out earlier today in our bid to get into the 16-and-under final, so it’s good to win this championship. It shows that the boys are committed to the programme that we are offering within our club.”

For Hope Center, coached by Cedric ‘Space’ Sweeting, K Rolle had a game high 12, including nine in the second half. D Tinker added five.