The Tribune

THE 2023-24 Catholic Board of Education Primary Schools basketball championships will feature the Xavier’s Lower School Giants boys and girls versus the Sts Francis & Joseph School Shockers on Tuesday at the Loyola Hall.

The Shockers remained undefeated and advanced to the finals after their boys closed out the St Thomas More Sparks 20-5.

Meanwhile, the Shockers girls’ team dropped the Sparks 8-3 to book their spot in Tuesday’s championship game.

For the Giants, they won against the St Cecilia’s Strikers 9-2 in the girls playoffs and 14-10 in the boys division.

The Shockers’ boys team had a perfect season in the standings after they never lost a game.

On Friday, Emery Sturrup led the way in scoring for the Shockers with 10 points in the playoff win.

The primary school team got out to a 5-0 advantage to start the game which turned into an 8-0 lead and they never looked back.

In the girls’ matchup, Grace Smith scored a team-high five points in the victory.

Nkomo Ferguson, head coach of the Shockers, talked about how it felt to have two teams secure a spot in the respective championship games.

“It feels great. The kids put in the work, tonight they looked pretty sloppy but they know how to recover from mistakes and our defence pulled through,” Ferguson said.

Coach Ferguson did not mince words when it came to his expectations of the Shockers in the best-of-three championship round.

“We are about to complete the sweep, that is my expectation,” he said.

The Giants ousted the Strikers behind the efforts of Khaki Armbrister, who poured in 10 points in the win. The former maintained control of the game from the opening quarter and despite some last minute efforts by the Strikers, the game was never close.

In the girls’ matchup, Lenise Leadon led the Giants with six in the game. Demarco Smith, head coach of the Giants, was pleased with the efforts of both teams.

“I am happy for the kids, they put in the work and deserved to be here. They earned it so I am more than happy for them. We were able to come out here and show everybody the hard work we put in all season,” Smith said.

The head coach is looking for the team to get the job done in the basketball championships.

“My expectations is that we put our best foot forward and hopefully that is enough to win the championship. Our goal is always to win the chip,” he said.

The Catholic Board of Education Primary Schools basketball championships game one takes place on Tuesday, December 5.

Game two will be on Wednesday and game three will be played on Thursday if necessary at the Loyola Hall at 3:45pm.