BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE top young basketballers of St. Kitts played well over the weekend and split a pair of games against the reigning junior champions out of the British Virgin Islands, Tortola’s Another Level.
Another Level made their first appearance at Basketball City on Friday night (Mar. 5) against the four-peat St. Kitts Amateur Basketball Association (SKABA) Junior Division champion O. D. Brisbane Sandy Point Fruta Falcons.
Though Falcons have continually dominated the local league and fielded a strong team for the game, Another Level were able to gain the upper-hand in the second half and win 87-77.
Charles Pemberton proved to be crucial for Another Level on both ends of the court as he racked up 22 points and 15 rebounds. An additional nine blocks from Pemberton helped to limit the usually unstoppable scoring of Sandy Point.
Another Level was also assisted by good performances from Marvin Smith and Daryl Alexander, who had 17 and 12 points respectively, and helped to turn the game around after an early lead by Sandy Point.
Despite not winning the game, Falcons put in a good effort all around with leadership from centre Sheno Liddie’s 24 points and nine rebounds. Taslyn Belboda also added 19 points while Travis Rogers and Miguel Browne each had 13.
The Tortola-based team returned to the court the following night to face a St. Kitts Select Junior Team and this time the hosts proved successful with a 94-91 victory.
Ram’s Junior Hitters star Tyrone Hutchinson led an early effort against Another Level to help St. Kitts control the pace of the game throughout and added 30 points by the final buzzer.
Belboda was once again a top-scorer for St. Kitts with 21 points, while Liddie and Calvin ‘Butters’ Wallace rallied the defensive effort with nine boards apiece.
Meanwhile, Pemberton was not given room to get his shots off as he had been against Falcons and was limited to only 11, though he was still strong on defense with 10 rebounds.
Tortola’s top scorers for the game were Kenrick Thomas with 22 and Daryl Alexander with 15, while Nigel Todman headed up the defense with 13 rebounds.
The SKABA LIME Junior Division is scheduled to continue tomorrow (Mar. 9) at Basketball City when Bird Rock Uprisers take on Molineux Strivers at 7 p.m.
