The 2012 A.L.H.C.S Inter-house Basketball Tournament concluded on the 10th February, 2012. It was an exciting nine days of basketball in which the skills ofAnguilla’s high school students were exhibited. With old rivalries being rekindled and new ones created, the entire tournament was intense as teams from the five houses battled for 1st placer and bragging rights of 2012.
In the junior division, the young and enthusiastic Campus B students enjoyed their segment of the tournament as they played against peers in exciting matches. The future A.L.H.C.S Basketball stars displayed their talents on the court and amazed spectators with their level of skill. Rene Thomas, Jeronnie Fleming and Moses Madrigal shone for Pink House as they lead their team throughout a great tournament, Their efforts were only outdone by Mauriel Carty, Dimitri Adams,ShekiumLakeand the rest of the Yellow House squad as they emerged victorious in the Finals of ALHCS junior division of the
tournament. Congratulations are in order for this star team. The Maroon House junior team is still a work in progress, and even after having lost every game in the junior division of the tournament, it has very talented youngsters such as Rashaun Jackson and Carmel Gumbs who are bound to improve if they continue playing hard. The juniors of Purple House are an energetic bunch of youngsters who, lead by players such as Brandon Blake and Viglef Gumbs, played well throughout the tournament and ended up in 3rd place. They were heavily supported by Purple House teachers as well as students throughout the tournament and this level of encouragement helped them to play with the extra zeal they needed. Their performance on the court exceeded some expectations and they were rewarded for their excellent enthusiasm. Orange House Juniors also played well in the junior tournament and despite their 4th place finish, exhibited a true fighting spirit.TyriqueLakeand Juwan Martinez were the two main purple house players in the junior division of the tournament.
Many juniors of Orange House also played in the senior tournament due to the lack of senior players to represent Orange House in those games. They were underdogs in the senior tournament and, despite being the team most highly anticipated to finish the tournament in the 5th position, shamed all doubters by first defeating Pink House, and thus earning a spot in the semifinals. After the return of their injured point guard, Daniel Richardson, Orange House went on to win the third place game against Yellow House. Yellow House had fallen to third place after losing to Purple House in the semi-finals. Daniel scored a tournament high of 19 points in that semi-final game. The Yellow House team, who were fan favourites, and who were deemed talented enough to prevent Maroon House from a three-peat played a great tournament but fell short in their final two games which resulted in them placing 4th overall. Despite a disappointing finish, Akeil Gumbs and Eliban Valera must be commended for their outstanding contributions as well as Nicholas Hughes and Keifer Benjamin. The Purple House Team was also a favoured team in the tournament and with an abundance of talent, they proved their worth by defeating Yellow House in the semi-finals and earned the right to play Maroon House in the Finals of the tournament. They were very energetic, much like their junior team and they played a fast-break style game, lead by a heavily guard based team with players such as Omari Carty, Alrique Rogers, and Jaleel Scarbrough. Ricardo Romney also aided his team with a strong presence in the post. However, when they faced Maroon in the Finals, they could not upset them but
instead, collapsed under the pressure of the game. They still managed to placed 2nd in the tournament which is extremely commendable and worthy of praise. Pink House team was a bit disappointing seeing that they won no games and lost to a less experienced and younger Orange House team, knocking them out of the semi-finals completely. However, the team’s effort was respectable as players such as Joshua Richardson, Alphonzo Issac, and Oswald White tried very hard to redeem their team. Maroon House team, who everyone was trying to steal the title of A.L.H.C.S Inter-house Basketball Senior Champions 2012, played the tournament with magnificent poise and, despite some shortcomings in terms of record setting play, still continued a winning streak they started two years back. A team filled with winning experience, Maroon House was expected to place no less than 1st in the 2012 tournament. Even placing 2nd would have made them a laughing-stock for the entire school. With no intentions to end their winning streak, the senior team fought with spirit, avenging their junior team, with the help of two juniors, Rashuan Jackson and Carmel Gumbs. Point guard Mackeem Thomas played as an all-rounder in the tournament, providing a big offensive push along with Cordane Richardson, who dominated the center position on both offense and defense throughout the tournament; blocking almost every shot that was attempted from close range. Javier Richardson, Omari Carty, and Shakeem Lewis also provided much needed support to the Maroon House team. Without them, the team may not have been able to record the first three-peat in A.L.H.C.S Inter-House Basketball history. Congratulations to Maroon House on this accomplishment as well as to all the other teams in the tournament. We hope to have an even bigger and better tournament next year–February 2013!
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian Newspaper.)
