The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Police Crimestoppers tied their series 1-1 with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture Panthers.

Meanwhile, the Bain and Grants Town Cybots won game one against the Bamboo Shack Patrollers in round two of the Bahamas Government Departmental Basketball Association playoffs.

It was a busy weekend at the AF Adderley Gymnasium for the round two teams. The Crimestoppers and Panthers put on a show on Friday night to get their series started and played the following day featuring another close finish between the top teams.

Additionally, the Cybots are the only remaining playoff team that have not suffered a loss in the 2023 BGDBA playoffs.

Crimestoppers vs Panthers

The Crimestoppers took the floor against the 2022 BGDBA champions, the MOYSC Panthers, and with sky-high expectations they did not disappoint. On Friday night, the top teams put on a crowd-pleasing thriller as the Panthers edged out a one-point win 85-84 in overtime.

The powerhouse teams showed the packed crowd at the AF Adderley gymnasium why they are atop of the government league.

In game one of the pair played, the Panthers snuck away with the win following a game where no team had the advantage until the final buzzer. The Crimestoppers threw the first offensive blow in the opening quarter of round two. The second-seeded team jumped out to a 17-13 lead at the 2:33 mark following a jumper made by Michael Furley Bain Jr. The quarter closed out with a one-point differential favouring the Crimestoppers 18-17.

The tide shifted in the second quarter for the Panthers behind the efforts of Kemsey Sylvestre in Friday’s game. With 8:23 remaining in the second quarter, Sylvestre picked off a bad pass by Jeron Smith which translated into a dunk in transition to switch the team’s momentum.

He was big for the Panthers, especially in the second and third quarters. On the night, Sylvestre dropped a well-rounded double double in the win. He put up 27 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks in the overtime victory. The Panthers’ offensive surge led to the team jumping out to a double digit 60-49 lead to end the third.

In the fourth quarter the Crimestoppers clawed their way back into the bout with Bain leading the bunch.

He went head-to-head with Sylvestre and came away with a game-high 31 points and eight boards on a crisp 58.8 per cent shooting.

Ultimately, after trimming the lead to 74-72 in the fourth quarter, the Crimestoppers came up short on ample opportunities to win the game at the charity stripe in regulation and the extra period of play.

In game two of the weekend, the Crimestoppers corrected their mistakes on Saturday night to drop the Panthers 84-76. After playing in a gruelling game on Friday night, the team turned in a group effort to carve out the 8-point win.

The Crimestoppers had five players score in double digits to tie the best-of-five series.

Anthony “Cops” Rolle, head coach of the Crimestoppers, talked about the timely win.

“Last night’s win was considered a must win for me because I didn’t want to go in a 0-2 hole with such a good team that has two national team players, so us getting the win now shifts the pressure back to them to respond,” Rolle said.

The head coach said the game plan remains sticking with the zone defence while continuing to make it difficult on offence for the Panthers’ star players in efforts to force the others to beat them instead.

Cybots vs Patrollers

The Cybots are the only undefeated team in the BGDBA playoffs, a feat they kept alive on Saturday night. The league’s best regular season team shut down the Patrollers 92-84 to win their third consecutive game of the playoffs.

The team outrebounded the Patrollers 53-41 in the win. Additionally, their offence was running on all cylinders from the field and behind the arc. They finished shooting 31/65 from the field for 47.7 per cent and splashed 16 three-pointers on 43.2 per cent.

Georgio Walkes and Able Joseph turned in brilliant performances in the team’s latest win. Walkes filled the stat sheet with a game-high 24 points and team-high 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, his teammate dropped 20 points to pair with six assists and four steals.

Wayde Watson, head coach of the Cybots, said it is always important to win the first game in a best-of-five series, according to history, and he is simply grateful for the win.

“The key to victory was our defence and experience. This team is very experienced and we have been together for a long time so we have some very good players and chemistry,” Watson said.

The head coach added that the team is looking forward to game two and would like to take a commanding lead in the series to put pressure on the Patrollers.

Round two of the BGDBA playoffs continues tonight at 7:30pm.

Tickets are $5 at the door.