George’s, Campion lock up schoolboy basketball titles

ST GEORGE’S College Under-16 and Campion College Under-19 teams are the ISSA Urban Schoolboy basketball champions, having secured identical 2-0 series wins over Camperdown and St Catherine High, respectively, at the National Stadium courts on Tuesday.

In the under-16 finals, the Clifford Brown-coached St George’s College held off a determined Camperdown, coached by Oneil Brown, to earn a 47-46 victory. Camperdown staged a strong comeback in the final quarter, dominating their opponents, but fell just short in a gallant effort.

Alexander Bailey was St George’s top performer with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Imani Salmon contributed nine points and Brenton Dennis added eight.

The under-19 finals, which were previously halted because of rain while Campion led 10-6, were relocated to the UWI Mona Bowl on Friday.

The Ryan Martell-coached Campion team led from start to finish, holding a 19-13 advantage after the first quarter while a 10-10 second quarter left them with a 29-22 lead at half-time.

Campion extended their control in the third quarter, outscoring their opponents 29-12 to take a commanding 48-35 lead heading into the final period. However, a determined St Catherine team mounted a fierce comeback in the fourth quarter, outscoring Campion 14-4. Despite the late surge, Campion held on for a 52-49 victory, completing the 2-0 series win.

Ryan Martell Jr was the standout performer for the champions, finishing with 19 points, nine rebounds, and eight steals. He received strong support from John Mark Tapper, who had 14 points and 16 rebounds, and Zachary Lawrence, who contributed eight points and 12 rebounds.

For St Catherine, Donovan Richards led with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Henry Laconte added 12 points and 16 rebounds. Kimar Halliday also chipped in with 12 points.