Adrian Frater, News Editor

WESTERN BUREAU:

BASKETBALL FANS in western Jamaica will be in for a special treat tomorrow when the Western Basketball Association (WBA) stages its annual 'All Star Showdown', featuring a clash between a western all stars team and an invitational team at the Montego Bay Cricket Club court starting at 7:00 p.m.

"This is a event that should be chock-full of excitement because we will have the best players from both the Lucozade Sports Division One League and the Cool Runnings Spring Water Division Two on show for the all-stars team against the invitation team, which will feature at least one international player," said Kurt Comrie, the public relations officer for the WBA.

Outstanding players

The Western All-Star team is expected to feature players, such as, Oneil Clarke, Robert Spence, Andrae Morgan, Kareem Hibbert, Rayon Bolt, Adolph Erskine, Michael Holness and Goyan Malcolm, among a number of other outstanding players from the western region.

The invitational squad, dubbed the Star Ballaz Invitational, will have former Muschett High School student, Samado Samuels, who is based in the United States, as its main draw card.

Samuels, a former MVP in the WBA/KFC Western Schools League, is currently enrolled at the St. Benedicts High School, in New Jersey, and according to independent surveys and scouts, he is ranked number two in the Class of 2008 to enter universities and colleges. However, he is reportedly being wooed by scouts to bypass university or college and go straight to the National Basketball Association (NBA).

"Samado (Samuels) has made us quite proud already and, from all indications, he has a bright future awaiting him in the NBA," said president of the WBA, Ronald Beckford. "We believe this is a wonderful opportunity for the public to come out and see how much he has progressed since he has left here."