High stakes at Campion: ISSA Urban Basketball finals tip off today
Published:Friday | February 6, 2026 | 12:11 AMRaymond Graham/Gleaner Writer
THE BEST of three finals in the ISSA Urban Basketball schoolboys’ under-16 and under-19 competitions tip off today at Campion. At 2 p.m. Jamaica College (JC) will oppose Wolmer’s Boys in under-16 action before defending champions Campion College face St George’s College in the under-19 contest at 3:30 p.m.
JC advanced to the under-16 finals after getting by Campion 2-0 in their best-of-three semifinal series, while Wolmer’s surprised St George’s 2-1 in their semifinals.
In the under-19 semifinals, defending champions Campion got past Camperdown 2-0. Their second game ended in controversy after Camperdown failed to take the court in extra time, forfeiting the match to their opponents. In the other semifinal, St George’s eked out a 2-1 win over JC.
Both under-19 coaches – Ryan Martel of Campion College and Clifford Brown of St George’s – are oozing with confidence ahead of today’s matchup.
“We are very elated to be in the finals. We are anticipating a very intense, up-tempo and fierce game against our opponents. It is the best-of-three finals and we are hungry to win, so we are looking to take game one,” said Martel.
St George’s last title came in 2022, and after losing by two points to their opponents away earlier in quarterfinal action, coach Brown is aiming to go all the way.
“We expect a battle royal. We are anticipating a tough matchup against a formidable opponent. We have left no stone unturned in our preparation and we are ready to take on the task of defeating the defending champions,” said an upbeat Brown.
New champions will be crowned in the under-16 division.
The Howard Harvey-coached Wolmer’s Boys, who showed resilience in edging home team St George’s by two points in overtime to advance to the finals, will be hoping for another top performance to take an early lead in the series.
However, after coming close to advancing two teams to the finals, JC’s coach Duane Cunningham will not want to leave empty-handed this season. His team will be aiming to draw first blood ahead of their second game next Monday at St George’s.