The preliminary round of the 2024-25 Under-19 Boys Schools’ Basketball Tournament ended on Thursday, setting the stage for the playoffs next week.
Group A winners Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) will face Group B runners-up Patricia D James Secondary School (PDJSS), and Soufrière Comprehensive Secondary School (SCSS) will meet St Mary’s College (SMC) in the semifinals on Tuesday.
On Thursday, at the Beausejour Gymnasium, SMC overwhelmed Choiseul Secondary School 71-6. Choiseul did not score until the final quarter. Nyel Joseph scored 22 points and had 13 rebounds and six steals for SMC. Zahir Leslie added 14 points and seven rebounds, whilst Nezron Lewis tallied 12 points, nine rebounds, and five steals.
“The whole objective was to ensure that all of our players had good game experience,” said SMC coach Benny Auguste. “And they were able to benefit from that experience today. I must say, the game literally feels like training, it’s not really a competition at this time. But I would love to see the level of the sport grow a little bit more, especially with the players in the South.”
SALCC, meanwhile, routed Micoud Secondary School 74-23. SALCC ended the opening round unbeaten and achieved the highest score in the tournament to date. Jazzaniah Blanchard had 14 points and eight rebounds.
Daniel Alex scored 12 points and pulled down six rebounds. Josel Desriviere contributed 10 points and a team-high 17 rebounds.
“We’re going to be doubling up our game at training,” said Auguste of SMC’s preparation to meet SALCC next week. “We all know that the SALCC team is made up of half of the SMC team from last year. So we’re really basically going up against ourselves. Nothing really new under the sun with the SALCC game. We know most of their techniques and what they’re coming with. I saw them play earlier, and from what I saw, I think the quality has dropped a little. So with that said, I think we are going to be giving SALCC a good run in the next game.”
PDJSS and Soufrière are likely to have key contributors absent for the semifinals, as top players for both teams have travelled overseas.
SALCC and Soufrière are the only unbeaten teams in the competition so far.
