Youth Basketball: Queen’s College crowned Georgetown champions

Queen’s College have claimed the Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) Georgetown Regional title following a hard-fought 37-28 victory over Tutorial High in Sunday’s final.

The standard was set during a thrilling weekend of hoops action, which commenced with two breathless semi-final encounters on Friday night.

Tutorial High booked their spot in the showpiece event by the skin of their teeth, maintaining their perfect tournament record with a dramatic 45-44 overtime win against The Bishops’ High School ‘A’.

Tied at 40 apiece at the end of regulation time, Tutorial relied on a masterclass from Xavier Scott—who fell just two points short of a triple-double with six points, eight rebounds, and a staggering 12 blocks—alongside a 19-point effort from Julian Charles to seal a 7-0 run to the final.

In the second semi-final, Queen’s College laid down their championship marker by overcoming St. Rose’s High 46-40, propelled by Darren Dublin’s team-high 13 points.

Sunday’s finals night did not disappoint. St. Rose’s High bounced back from their semi-final heartbreak to secure the third-place podium spot with a comfortable 57-29 dismantling of The Bishops’ High ‘A’.

Shaquan Callender claimed Player of the Game honours with 16 points and 5 steals, while Christian Williams matched his 16-point tally to overwhelm a fighting 12-point, 10-rebound double-double from Bishops’ Kemol Pickering.

In a tense, defensive final, they managed to stifle Tutorial High’s explosive offence as the tournament MVP, Darren Dublin, once again rose to the occasion, netting 12 points and grabbing three rebounds to guide his side to the regional crown.

Deshaun Garrick and Liam Bart weighed in with crucial eight-point contributions to negate a 10-point resistance from Tutorial’s Keion Lynch and another elite defensive display from Xavier Scott, who recorded eight blocks in the defeat.

The prestigious youth tournament was made possible through the support of corporate sponsors Edward B. Beharry Ltd, G-Boats Inc, the National Sports Commission, the Ministry of Education, and Banks DIH Ltd.