Anguilla national basketball team, The Dolphins, returned home on Monday December 16th after claiming the 3rd place trophy at the Leeward Islands Basketball Competition (LIBC) held in Antigua from December 12th – 15th.
The Dolphins opened the tournament with a match against the host country’s sister isle, defeating the Barbuda Bucks 70 – 52. Rick Browne’s 17 points and 10 rebounds helped to lead The Dolphins to victory.
In their 2nd game on Friday night, the Antigua Bulldogs proved too much for them as they were defeated 95 – 50. Javille Brooks led the team effort with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals.
On Saturday the Dolphins stormed through the gates jumping out to an early 19 point lead against Tortola. However, Tortola turned around and dominated the next 3 quarters with the end result being victory beating The Dolphins 91 – 79. Rick Browne once again led the team with 22 points, 7 assists and 12 rebounds. Jason Hodge also made a big impact that evening and contributed 20 points, 15 rebounds and 2 blocks to the team’s overall statistics for the night.
Needing a victory in their final match on Sunday morning to secure a trophy, Anguilla defeated the Montserrat Volcanics 69-56 with top scorer being Incia Brooks with 22 points and 7 rebounds. Javille Brooks also contributed 14 points, 6 assists and 12 rebounds.
The high level of basketball played by the Dolphins surprised the other teams as Anguilla was expected to be one of the underdogs. Players, fans and officials alike were also entertained and amazed with the impressive display of ball handling and craftiness of Anguilla’s point guard Daury Herbert; who made quick work of which ever defender teams tried to throw his way.
The Anguilla National Basketball team is extremely happy to have been able to participate in this regional tournament that has been dormant for almost a decade.
The trip would not have been possible without significant contributions from the Government of Anguilla as well as the Social Security Board. For this, the Anguilla Amateur Basketball would like to say a huge thank you to both of these organizations who provided all finances needed to make the trip a reality. The Dolphins will continue to train until the 2014 tournament when they will look to improve upon this year’s success. The 2014 LIBC is scheduled to be hosted in either Montserrat or St. Maarten.
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
