The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Commonwealth Bank Giants and Your Essential Store Giants are the 2023 New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) division one and two champions. The pair of Giants wrapped up the last game of their series this past weekend at the A F Adderley Gymnasium.

The CB Giants handled business in their series on Friday night against the Discount Distributors Liquors Rockets, ending the series with a 3-0 sweep after winning game three 92-78.

The three0game sweep of the NPBA Finals was an important feat for the 2023 NPBA champions as they wanted to avenge last year’s three-game sweep at the hands of the defending champions Rockets.

Perry Thompson, head coach of the 2023 NPBA champions, talked about how it felt to return the favour. “This was our redemption song. We talked about that loss all year long and relished the opportunity to face them again. It was great to be able to return the favour,” Thompson said.

With the two powerhouse teams being no strangers to each other, Thompson added that he knew the Rockets were very confident coming into the series against them.

However, despite the regular season losses to the defending champions, the head coach said the team felt they had an advantage because they played a few close games and knew how to operate under pressure.

Thompson credited the CB Giants’ next man up mentality and the hustle of the team as they dove for loose balls, grabbed boards, forced turnovers and the bench players stepped up in big moments.

Dylan Musgrove was the game’s leading scorer as he poured in 26 points to pair with 3 rebounds and 5 assists in Friday night’s closeout victory. His efforts were complemented by Eugene Bain and Lerecus Armbrister. Bain wrapped up the series with 22 points and 14 boards to pick up a double double in the last Finals game. Armbrister, who has been instrumental off the pine for the Giants once again stepped up. He scored 21 points off buckets and dropped 5 dimes in the championship win.

In a game where the CB Giants biggest lead was 17, the newly crowned champions blitzed their opponent on the fast break 38 to 20. Also, the bench players filled the stat sheet with 34 points compared to the Rockets’ 25.

The Giants made good on capitalising off turnovers scoring 23 points off turnovers meanwhile, Rockets scored 9.

James Price, president of the NPBA, talked about the competitiveness of both teams in this year’s Finals.

“The Giants were the team that was well prepared, both of their teams were at the top of their divisions straight through the year so they were really prepared for this championship,” Price said.

The president congratulated both the YES Giants and CB Giants for bringing home championship trophies for their organisation.

Although the Giants made quick work of the Rockets, the team was no pushover in the final game of the series. The team put up 25 second chance points, beating the Giants’ 12.

Additionally, the Rockets pulled down 72 rebounds in the loss while Giants had 45 boards on the night.

Abel Joseph, Rockets’ leading scorer, dropped 21 points to go with a game-high 15 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Joseph tried to single-handedly will his team to a win but team injuries late in the playoffs were too much to overcome.

In division two action, the YES Giants defeated the Produce Express Rockets, winning the series 3-1 to secure this year’s division two championship.

The YES Giants finished the game 85-78 and was led by Brandon Strachan who scored 23 points in the win. He paired the points with 13 rebounds and 5 steals, ending the bout with a double double.

He was joined by Sirmar Rolle who pitched in 18 points and 9 boards - one shy of a double double. The teams were pretty evenly matched in team categories as the YES Giants edged out the Rockets 46 to 40 in the paint. Also, the teams drew even in fast break points 23 to 23 and the YES Giants scored 16 second chance points compared to Rockets’ 15 on the night.

With the 2022-2023 NPBA season in the books, Price thanked the fans that came out in big numbers to support the association’s teams in this year’s playoffs and if elected as president again at the NPBA elections, he will look to make some necessary adjustments to the league going into next season.