The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER watching a competitive first half of the regular season, New Providence Basketball Association president Keith ‘Belzee’ Smith is eager to get the second half underway at the AF Adderley Gymnasium on Monday night.

The NPBA concluded the first half on Friday with the defending champions Commonwealth Bank Giants routing the College of the Bahamas Caribs 87-52 and runners-up Mail Boat Cybots nipping the Real Deal Shockers 102-98 before they took a break for the Christmas holiday.

The Giants are leading the John Archer Division with an 8-1 record, followed closely by the PJ’s Stingers at 6-12. The Cybots, on the other hand, are sitting in third place in the Vince Ferguson Division at 5-3 behind the front running Shockers, who are 6-2 and the Patrol Regulators, who are 6-3.

Smith said if the first half was any indication, they are looking forward to an exciting finish as the champions will once again represent New Providence in the Bahamas Basketball Federation’s National Round Robin Tournament scheduled to be staged in April.

“Most of the teams have completed nine or 10 games and each team will play a minimum of 20 games,” Smith said. “We will try to get in as many with the interruptions that we anticipate in the future with the Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic (for senior boys basketball teams) that we have no control over.

“We also have to squeeze our season a little tighter due to the fact that the IAAF World Relays is the first week in May and that is right around the time that our Commonwealth Championship is being held, but the BBF is moving it up, so they are looking to have it completed by the end of April.”

Although they experienced some problems off the court, Smith said the play on the court was indicative of how competitive the season has been so far.

“Most of the teams feel like they are entitled to be with the big boys,” Smith said. “Each division, all the teams have lost at least one or two games, so there is no more undefeated teams. Every team has to come night in and night out to fight for their lives. This is something that we were working towards during my tenure and I think once the teams come out and continue to show their professionalism, we will continue to have a great season.”

Based on their performances so far, Patron Regulators’ forward Gameliel Rose has produced the most impressive individual feat leading in three of the categories. The top leaders at the end of the first half in the various categories are as follows:

Average points - William Rigby (Real Deal) 25.62 points; average rebounds - Anthony Williams (Rythm Rebels) 12.67 average with a total of 114 rebounds; average assists - Able Joseph (PJ’s Stingers) 6.43 average with a total of 45 assists; average blocks - Gameliel Rose (Patron Regulators) 4.44 average with a total of 40 blocks; free throw percentage - Brian Bain (Mail Boat Cybots) 88 per cent, but Devon Brennen (Rythm Rebels) have a total of 50 free throws made and Gameliel Rose has a total of 31 steals to top that category.

When the season resumes, the following matches will be on schedule next week:

Monday

7:30pm - College of the Bahamas Caribs vs Pyramid Food Rockets

9pm - PJ ‘s Stingers vs Commonwealth Bank Giants

Wednesday

7:30pm - Y-Care Wreckers vs Double R Services Limited

9pm - Mail Boat Cybots vs Patron Regulators

Friday

7:30pm - Island Luck Pros vs College of the Bahamas Caribs

9pm - Pyramid Food Rockets vs Real Deal Shockers

Saturday

7:30pm - Rythm Rebels vs Y-Care Wreckers

9pm - Double R Services Limited vs PJ’s Stingers

TEAM STANDINGS

TEAMS W L Pct. GB

John Archer Division

Commonwealth Bank Giants 8 1 .888 -

Pj’s Stingers 6 1 .857 1

Y-Care Wreckers 2 5 .285 4

Double R. Service Limited 1 7 .125

 Rythm Rebels 1 8 .111 7

Vince Ferguson Division

Real Deal Shockers 6 2 .750 - 

Patron Regulators 6 3 .666 1/2

Mail Boat Cybots 5 3 .625 1

Island Luck Pros 4 3 .571 11/2

Pyramid Food Rockets 3 4 .428 21/2

College of the Bahamas Caribs 1 6 .142 41/2