Sunday 19th February 2012, marked the opening of The Anguilla Senior Men’s National League Tournament organized by the Anguilla Amateur Basketball Association (AABA) and sponsored by the Anguilla Social Security Board.
With an early start to the season, the tournament is anticipated to be a huge success, with a relatively high 9 teams all competing to dethrone the National Champions, SHOTTAZ
The Opening Ceremony was held on the Valley Basketball Arena and was preceded by a march past led by the talented Pathfinders Drum Band. The program was chaired by the President of the AABA Jason Hodge and included an Opening Prayer by Pathfinder leader and basketball player, Fabrice Stevens and National Song on trumpet by Cordane Richardson, one ofAnguilla’s rising basketball stars. Words of encouragement and commendation came from Rollins Richardson of the Anguilla Sports Department and the opening Free-throw was made by Dimitri Adams, a representative of the Junior High school Basketball Tournament Champion Team. Team photos were taken by Keiroy Browne and players signed up for the much anticipated ‘seriously fun’ challenges taking place throughout the evening.
Immediately following the formalities the “action” kicked off with the Skillz Challenge with 10 participants all determined to dethrone Rowemain Carty (VP), the 3 year defending champion. The challenge comprised of various basketball skills, testing agility and precision under the pressure of time. It was a close call after the first round with Paul Bell in 1st place (22.03), Kerri(22.66) in 2nd, Rowemain Carty (24.61) in 3rd and Shakiel (Blacka) Ferguson (28.91) in 4th. The FINAL FOUR did battle again which yielded a complete upset to the results. Defending Skillz Champion Rowemaine Carty retained his title with a time of 18.27 beating the 2nd place Kerri by 6.54 seconds.
The 3 point Shoot Out is always a crowd pleaser and Sunday’s event did not lack in entertainment nor hype. The 25 participants battled it out with 25 balls to attempt the most 3 point shots from different positions. After the 1st round Ricky Coombs and Paul Bell tied at 9, Simba Price in 2nd with 8 and Jason Hodge(P),Ricardo Richardson, Gadget, Earlson and defending 3 Point Champion Rowemaine Carty (VP) all completing with 6. The 2nd round was a definite show stopper with Ricky Coombs dethroning the reigning Champ with a total of 10. Ricardo Richardson held on close to 2nd with 9 and 3rd was tied with Paul Bell and Earlson for 7.
In an unprecedented move the organizers added a “mix up” element to the competition in an effort to boost sportsmanship and inter team fun as well as crowd excitement. The 3 on 3 Mix Up featured a pool of players from different teams registering to compete, who were then randomly assigned to teams of 3. A total of 24 players registered and 8 teams were formed. Participants included 3 1st form juniors who signed up for the challenge knowing they’d be playing with the adults. After closely contested initial rounds the 2 final teams TEAM 5 (Jason Hodge, Eldon Webster & Juntao) and TEAM 7 (Eddie Webster, Khalid Hughes & Dimitri Adams) kept the pace hot and the crowd excited, tying the score and playing and additional four one minute overtime periods! TEAM 5 finally scored the winning shot which resulted in a 9-8 score.
The National AIDS Bureau was also present throughout the evening to distribute information and condoms and promote HIV/AIDS awareness. The basketball entertainment was followed by the Exodus band and festivities wrapped up at midnight.
The Executive Committee of the Anguilla Amateur Basketball Association, comprised of Jason Hodge(P), Rowemaine Carty(VP), Shayne Thompson(Tr), Rudy Webster(PRO) and Mirabelle West(Sec) would like to take this opportunity to thank the Platinum Sponsor, The Anguilla Social Security Board, Prize Sponsors Shop 4 Less and SandBar & Island Hoops Basketball Academy as well as basketball players, teams, Pathfinders, Fabrice Stevens, Cordane Richardson, The Anguilla Sports Department, DLG Engineering, The National AIDS Bureau, Exodus Band and the general public for their contribution to making the event a SUCCESS!
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
