Old Harbour, Campion face-off again in another final

Both teams further cemented their status as the two best teams in their age-group following impressive semifinal wins yesterday in the ISSA National Under-16 Basketball at Kingston College.

Old Harbour brushed aside Calabar 79-34, while Campion dispatched the challenge of St George's College 61-47. 

Chad Avis and Derjean Royal of Old Harbour ended the one-sided contest with 22 points each, while Leonardo Montaque was the best Calabar player with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

“The game was one that we executed fully,” Old Harbour High coach Ricardo Edwards said in a post-match interview with Old Harbour News. “We realize that Calabar had a main player and we identify that player and kept him out of the game. They try to keep my talisman out of the game, but because we were expecting that what we did was to swung the ball and use him as a decoy.”

Campion’s victory charge was led by the outstanding Daniel Isaac, who topped all scorers with 22 points and five steals. Isaac was ably supported by teammates Ralph Thomas and Micah Swaine, both registering 11 points apiece. Also impressive, albeit in a losing cause, was Dallon Douglas of St George’s who had a triple double, scoring 14 points, 11 rebounds and effecting 10 steals.

Their victories setup a repeat of this season Southern Conference final which Campion clinched by two points after Old Harbour dominated for most of the game.

And Edwards says the boys will not allow complacency this time around after allowing victory slipped from their grasp.

“Going up against Campion again, we lost to them in the conference final, but this time we want to bring home the national championship. We don’t want to just be the most popular team we want to be the national champion team,” he said.

Meanwhile, Campion coach Ryan Martell says his charges are ready for a tough battle against their biggest nemesis this season.

“We are optimistic and we respect our opponent very much. We are expecting a fight from Old Harbour. But I believe we have the wherewithal to beat them.

“Tactics will be a factor in this game for sure. We are aware of the main players in the Old Harbour team, but I think our bench is deeper than Old Harbour. They are going to press because I don’t think they know how to play any other way, so we are ready for that. However, it will come down to on that day how we execute our game on the day, and once we do that we should come out victorious,” Martell said.

The organisers are still finalising a date and venue for the final.