Big time rebounding and hard-nose defence helped Guyana to create history by reaching the CBC male U16 Caribbean Championship finals with a 40-points (77-37) win over Barbados on Friday evening at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. Guyana will now face an undefeated and defending champions Bahamas tonight (July 9).
By virtue of clinching a spot in the finals, Guyana also earned a place in the Centro Basket U17 Championship where they compete for spots in the FIBA Americas U18 Cup, from which they can qualify for the FIBA U19 World Cup or the Youth Olympics.
Guyana stifled Barbados defensively, holding the men from the Land of the Flying Fish to just eight points in the entire second half, as Jordan Alphonso once again had a game high with yet another double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds while Nigel Bowen dropped 14 points and 11 rebounds as well. Andrew Johnson and Kevon Wiggins each had 10 points in the win.
Scoring for Barbados was Makaari Jones with 13 points and seven boards as they will now play Jamaica for third.
Meanwhile, a fast paced first quarter to open the period, Barbados ran out to an 8-2 lead before Kevon Wiggins hit back-to-back threes; one after throwing a defender flat on the floor after two dribbles to ignite a run that would help the Guyanese finish the first quarter ahead 19-15.
Guyana’s offensive rebounding would allow them to control the second quarter with Jordan Alphonso’s beastly effort on the right low block.
However, a few unforced errors by Guyana allowed Barbados to close gap to go into the half down by one with the score on 30-29 in favour of Guyana.
A 10-0 run in the third quarter ignited Guyana’s offence to take a 16-point lead heading into the fourth while their 2-3 zone defence held Barbados to just two points in the third period with the score on 47-31.
Guyana never relinquished the lead, with their stifling defence keeping Barbados at bay for the win, to set up a clash with the mighty Bahamians.
With the exception of their semi-finals which they won 72 – 51 over Jamaica, the Bahamas scored over 100 points in their previously contested matches in the tournament.
