The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

The 2023 Bahamas Government Departmental Basketball Association (BGDBA) playoffs are scheduled to begin this Friday at the AF Adderley gymnasium.

The regular season concluded with the eighth-seeded Police Royals defeating the Bahamas Department of Corrections Challengers in a 20-point blowout win. Additionally, the fourth-seeded Airport Authority Avengers ended their regular season on a two-game winning streak after dropping the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) Rampage 82-77.

With the regular season now in the rearview mirror, teams will now start their quest towards the 2023 BGDBA Finals. They will first have to get through the opening round of the playoffs where competition is expected to be stiff across all brackets.

James Price, president of the BGDBA, believes that the playing field is even because there are no clear-cut favourites going into the 2023 postseason.

“Right now we have no clear-cut team expected to go to the finals. I am expecting some upsets because some of the bottom teams have stepped up in the last few games and were playing pretty well,” Price said.

In the spirit of competition, he warned top teams that regular season records are now out the window and in a best-of-three series on a bad night any of the lower-seeded teams can pull off an upset and get a win.

Some of the league’s top teams will be in action this weekend, including the league leading Bain and Grants Town Cybots and the second-seeded Police Crimestoppers.

The Cybots are no doubt on a mission with their sights set on the championships. The team’s head coach put the league on notice earlier in the 2023 BGDBA season claiming that his team will be in the finals. The Cybots backed up their lofty championship aspirations by ending the regular season as the only undefeated team – with a flawless 11-0 win/loss record.

The team will face-off against the 5-6 Police Royals, who are riding a two-game win streak into the postseason. The latter will have their work cut out for them this Friday night at 7:30pm.

The Police Crimestoppers ran teams off the court all season but were unable to stop the Cybots. The team dropped down to second seed in the regular season standings and are now matched up against the seventh-seeded RBDF Rampage. The RBDF team are going into the playoffs on a dismal four-game losing streak but will look to turn things around in the “second” season. The teams compete on Saturday at 7:30pm.

Joining the league’s top teams in the playoffs are last year’s defending champions the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture (MOYSC) Panthers.

The 2022 BGDBA champions have flown under the radar this season due to the dominance of the Cybots and Crimestoppers. However, the team is entering the 2023 playoffs riding five consecutive wins in their last five games right on par with the Cybots. The Panthers will battle against the 6-5 Real Deal Rangers on Saturday night.

In Friday night’s action, the Avengers and Bamboo Shack Patrollers will compete in what might be the most tightly-contested match of the opening round. Both teams ended the regular season with identical 7-4 records and will look to take down each other in round one.

Price urged the public to attend the 2023 BGDBA playoffs to witness competitive basketball across the various government departments.

“It is going to be some exciting basketball and I know whichever teams are playing in the championship games it is going to be a fight to the end,” the president said.

Games will be held on Friday and Saturday this weekend beginning at 7:30pm on both days.

The event’s cost is $4 at the entrance.