In Your Neighbourhood
Published:Saturday | March 30, 2013 | 12:00 AM
- Sista skittles open singles final today
ROWE'S STRIKERS' vice-captain Garfield 'Milligram' Samuels played the match of his life to eliminate Eastern All-Stars' Fitzroy 'Paul' Blair in a seven-set thriller in the quarter-finals of the Jamaica Skittles Federation/Sista National Singles Championships on Sunday at Bourbon House in East Kingston.
Blair seemed on course after taking the first two games easily with scores of 820-550, 1,130-500.
Samuels, however, levelled the scores by winning the third and fourth games 1,380-1,130 and 1,280-1,110.
But Blair would find a fresh rhythm and not only regained the lead, but appeared to be heading for a semi-final spot with the scores reading 3-2.
With his home supporters cheering loudly, Blair seemed to have lost his focus and played some careless shots, allowing Samuels to tie the match at 3-3, forcing a seventh and deciding set.
It was close going in the seventh and final game, but Samuels caught the gate at a crucial stage and made no mistake, sinking the last five balls to take the decider 1,120-770 .
Samuels will once again face another tough opponent in the semi-final, Nehemiah Henry, captain of Eastern All-Stars. Henry, a former champion, outplayed Fred 'Bushman' Marsh of Eagles Strikers 4-2 with scores of 1,440-660, 1,020-400, 690-230, 400-1,980, 500 and 1,540-960.
It will be a battle of Eagles team-mates Clinton 'Fly Up' Thompson and title favourite Dane Jones in the other semi-final, both players coming off impressive 4-0 whipping of their opponents.
Thompson brushed aside Rowe's Strikers' captain Raval Montague, while Jones outclassed Eastern's Steven Thompson.
The winner will take home $60,000 and the Sista Trophy, while the runner-up will pocket $30,000.
In the women's championships, Jacinth 'Gigi' Kellier from Rowe's will meet Eastern Strikers' Camille Clarke in the final.
Kellier stopped Iona Anderson 680-650 and 1,070-350, while Clarke got a bye into the final.
The semi-finals and finals will be played tomorrow at Bourbon House, 133 Windward Road, starting at 2:00 p.m.
- Worthy Gold pool tourney this weekend
The first major pool tournament for 2013, sponsored by Worthy Gold Rum, will be played today and tomorrow at Hot Shots Pool Bar, 120A Constant Spring Road. Play commences at 5:00 p.m. today and 2:00 p.m. tomorrow. It will take the form of a double elimination eight-ball open singles tournament with a first prize of $100,000 and a trophy from the sponsor.
The players finishing second will receive $35,000, with $10,000 each going to players finishing third and fourth, respectively.
Players finishing from fifth to eighth place will each receive $3,000. Entry fee is $3,000 but ladies and amateurs (C class and lower) are required to pay only $1,500.
- Manchester Under-17 football
The Manchester Football Association kicked off its 2013 Under-17 competition last weekend at Kirkvine. The competition has been renamed in honour of its former president Pat Anderson.
Anderson, now retired, and is a life member of both the Manchester FA and the governing body for the sport in Jamaica, the Jamaica Football Federation. In a special opening ceremony attended by Anderson, Dalton Wint, president of Manchester, told the gathering that the renaming of the competition was an important objective.
"Mr Anderson has left his mark on sport not just in Manchester but at the national level, and we wanted to entrench his legacy. Youth is close to his heart, and even though we lost the sponsorship for this league, we felt it was important to continue it in his honour," Wint said.
Anderson, 78, said he appreciated the gesture."I am happy as we spent a lot of time back in the day trying to push football forward here. Personally, I like to inspire young people, and this is an opportunity to continue that," he said.
In the two matches played, Kendal defeated 3-2 while Alligator Pond edged Villa 1-0.
- Manchester netball rally today
The Manchester Netball Association will launch its 2013 season today with a one- day rally to be hosted at Manchester High.
Nineteen teams have been confirmed with a start time of 10:00 a.m. An important feature of the day will be a special opening ceremony at 11:30 a.m. where president of the International Federation of Netball Associations Molly Rhone will address the teams. Rhone, who is a former Jamaica Netball Association president, was born in Manchester.
President of the Manchester Netball Association, Kaydeanne Holness, has also confirmed sponsorship contributions from Manchester Co-operative, Pharma Choice Pharmacy, Member of Parliament Michael Peart as well as Senator Wentworth Skeffery.
- Rivoli to represent South Central Confed
Rivoli of St Catherine will be the South Central Confed's representative in the National Premier League play-offs slated for May. The Monk Street-based team, which is coached by Calvert, Fitzgerald, earned that right after defeating parish-mates Frazsiers Whip 4-3 on penalties in the second-leg final of the South Central Super League at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.
Rivoli had carried a 1-0 lead into the final courtesy of Devon Hodges three days earlier at the same venue. However, this was quickly cancelled when Ranique Rowe netted in the first half for Frazsiers Whip.
No further goals were scored, and penalties were needed to settle the contest.
Following the game, coach Fitzgerald said his team was very confident going into the match. "We were always confident as we were well prepared. They are a good team, but they are new at this level. Remember we lost on penalties to New Green last year," Fitzgerald said.
- St Elizabeth Major League
Mid-season finalists Newell were clipped 1-0 by little-known Burnt Ground in last weekend's round of the Wray & Nephew sponsored St Elizabeth Major League.
Newell (20 points) have now been displaced at the top by Black Star (22), the same team they beat to win the mid-season final two weekends ago. Since winning the mid-season final, Newell had defeated Parrottee to wrestle the lead from Black Star. Black Star, on the other hand, had lost ground with a 2-1 loss to Young Brazil. Black Star's rebound came courtesy of a 1-0 win over Tafari Lions.
In other significant results from the last round, Round Hill outscored Mountainside 3-1 to move to fourth on 19 points while Young Brazil and Holland PYC ended 0-0.
- Sporting Central on top
The development side of Premier League outfit Sporting Central Academy maintained the overall lead in the Captain's Bakery and Grill-sponsored Clarendon FA Major League, with a spanking 3-1 win over current fifth-place side Original Hazard. Sporting are now on 16 points from six games.
Jamalco who were runners-up last season, kept on the heels of Sporting with a 3-0 shutout of Woodhall. They are just one point off the leaders but possess a far superior goal difference, having scored 20 and conceded six.
Other teams recording wins in the sixth round were Humble Lion's developmental side which stayed third on 11 points after outscoring Comfort 3-1, Summerfield who continued New Bowen's lean spell with a 2-1 win, York Town who won 2-0 over Milk River and Rock River who finally had their first win of the season, a 3-2 effort over Monymusk.
- Grey Ground, Albion in front
Grey Ground held on to the lead in the Manchester Division Two competition despite being absent from last week's schedule. Grey Ground's seven points from two wins and a draw kept them on top of the 18-team league on goal difference over the biggest movers this week, Albion. Albion moved from mid-pack to second following their 4-2 win over Sunset.
Losing ground were the previously unbeaten Manchester Academy team who were surprisingly beaten 4-3 by Land Settlement. Old England enjoyed the widest margin of victory in a 4-0 shutout of South Stars. Other teams experiencing a rise in the standings were Plowden who inflicted a 3-1 defeat on May Day, Mike Town who edged Royal Flat 2-1 and Clandon Strikers who got off the mark with a 1-0 win over Hills United.
- Hillstars humble Greenvale
Hillstars created the first big upset of the 2013 Captain's Bakery & Grill sponsored Manchester Major League following a 3-0 win over title-chasing Greenvale in last weekend's 13th round.
The loss dumped Greenvale from second to fifth in a closely contested top five, while the win for Hillstars was only good enough to lift them from the cellar position above Villa United. With just two rounds to complete the preliminary section, it is anybody's guess who will make the final four. Downs have the lead on goal difference over Porus. Both have 24 points. Three teams - Mile Gully, Alligator Pond and Greenvale - are a point behind on 23.
Mile Gully and Porus were the biggest movers last weekend. Mile Gully surged back into contention for a semi-final spot with a 3-0 win over Comfort while Porus outscored Villa United 3-2. Downs and Alligator Pond battled to a 1-1 draw.
The penultimate round will feature a double header tomorrow at Kirkvine, with Greenvale taking on Mile Gully and Comfort versus Porus. Alligator Pond will meet Hillstars at Downs while at Brooks Park, Villa United are up against Downs.
- Gully league
Teams mainly drawn from the Braeton division will on Easter Monday vie for glory in the Braeton Phase 3 'Gully League' football one-day tournament at Braeton Phase Three, adjacent to the Hellshire main road. The league is sponsored by the Portmore Municipal Council, and the winning side will collect $20,000. Entry fee is $1,200. The event is organised by the Braeton Phase 3 Police Youth Club and the man behind the Gully League, Orville 'Chippy' Irons.
- Cumberland,
Cumberland and Bridgeport earned the right to meet each other in tomorrow's LIME Portmore Division Two Football League final at the Ferdie Neita Park field after similar 1-0 wins over Greater Portmore and East Portmore Portals, respectively. The final is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Cumberland boot top-ranked Greater Portmore 1-0 in the second-leg semi-final and advanced 2-0 on aggregate at the Passagefort field on Sunday.
Jay Lindsay, a former Manning Cup star at Bridgeport High, scored the all-important goal in the second half. Lindsay robbed a defender of the ball and calmly scored past the Greater Portmore custodian. Bridgeport eliminated East Portmore Portals 1-0 in the second leg to advance 1-0 on aggregate.
- Old Harbour humble Fel Tab
Old Harbour New Testament, the defending champions, used their experience to get past Fellowship Tabernacle by 64 runs and advance to today's semi-final in the Power of Faith
Scores: Old Harbour 162-5 in 20 overs (Errol Thomas 39, Jonio Beckford 32 not out; Errol Flynch 2-35). Fel Tab 98-7 (20) (Yanich Henry 32 not out; Everton Richards, 3-14; Andre Henry 2-16.)
In the second match at the venue, Portmore Gospel Assembly (PGA) scored a narrow two-run victory over Miracle Open Bible (MOB). Scores: PGA 112 all out in 15.2 overs (Bryan Latore 25, Andre Bryce 24; David Williams 4-16, Lushane Black 3-10.) MOB 110 all out in 18.2 overs (
At the Lime Tree Oval Power of Faith International defeated Christ Cathedral Community Worship Centre by 104 runs. Scores: PFM Int'l. 164-2 in 20 overs (Glen Wellington 71, Junior Stewart 56). Worship Centre 60 all out (Pete Salmon, 3-13, Terrence Francis, 3-14).
In the second game at the venue, Gospel Lighthouse easily defeated Power of Faith Development by eight wickets. Scores: PFM Dev. 79 all out (Nesta Dixon 38). Gospel Lighthouse 82-2 (Andre Ellis 31, Albert Heron 20).
- Walker, Bryan are domino champs
Fort International's pair, Dudley Walker and Delroy Bryan, were on top of their game on Sunday as they won the Garveymeade Sport Club-sponsored Pairs Knock-out domino competition at the club's headquarters. The pair defeated Leroy Bernard and Fred Thomas 10-6 in the final and pocketed $20,000 for their efforts. Second place received $10,000. Third-place team Peter Holness and Rohan Lynch from Caribbean Classic got $6,000, while the pair of Anthony McGee and Franklyn Robinson placed fourth and collected $4,000.
- Two matches on in Portmore domino
Two rescheduled games in the Jamaica Domino Federation Portmore/ St Catherine Domino League will be played tomorrow morning. Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF), currently seventh with 30 points, will play Correctional Services at ISCF home ground, Port Henderson Road. Correctional Services are in 12th place on 26 points. Eradication (44 points), the joint leaders, play away to 16th-place Ken's Wildflower. Both games will commence at 11:30 a.m.
- LIME St Catherine Division One
Albion United will meet Dunbeholden in a second-leg semi-final of the LIME St Catherine FA Division One tomorrow at the Spanish Town Prison Oval. The match, which is scheduled for 4 p.m., will see Albion starting with a 3-1 advantage from the first leg. The league's leading scorer, Tavoy Morgan, will again lead from the front and will be assisted by Orville Newell and Kenny Lee. Richard Oates is Dunbeholden's top player. The second match will see mid-season champions Christian Pen against Old Harbour Bay United in a second-leg LIME St Catherine FA Major League. The first leg ended 1-1.
- LIME Primary Football League
Portsmouth Primary will put their 100 per cent win record on the line in a semi-final match in the Portmore Zone of the LIME Primary Football League.
Portsmouth face fourth-place Ascot Primary at 10 a.m. at the Portsmouth Primary field.
Expectations are high at Portsmouth Primary School for this team as they are expected to go all the way. They have the maximum 27 points from nine games.
Portsmouth will look to Alexter Johnson with seven goals, and Kevaughn Barnett, six, for the win. Ascot will have to play catch-up as they were beaten 3-1 by Portsmouth the last time the teams met. Waterford and Bridgeport will play the feature game at 11:30 a.m.
CAPTION: Kim Lee (right), head of channel marketing at LIME, joins Natalie Neita-Headley (second left), minister with responsibilty for sports, in giving good wishes to high jumper Christoffe Bryan (second right)†and sprinter Odail Todd, members of the Jamaican delegation to the 2013 Carifta Games scheduled for the Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas, from today until Monday. LIME is a sponsor of the Jamaica team. - Contributed