
By Neto Baptiste
Multiple times Division One basketball champions, Ovals Ojays, added another league title to their collection when, on Tuesday night, they clinched the 2023 crown with a 91-54 blowout of newcomers Spanish Heat at the JSC basketball complex.
The win put Ovals level on 24 points with Steelers, but Ovals had beaten the Potters men twice this season, giving the advantage on head to head.
Ovals dominated throughout all four quarters during the contest for the easy win. The Ovals men clinched the first quarter by a 28-17 margin before outscoring their opponents 21-16 in the second quarter. It was more of the same in the third quarter with Ovals leading by a 29-11 margin before taking the fourth and final quarter 13-10.
Coach Bradbury Browne dubbed this year’s title as rewarding, given the number challenges they encountered.
“This year was really a struggle in terms of getting everything together for us to put out a good product. At times we were wondering if we were going to have a squad that could compete but we managed to get all the pieces together. We then had national team training and quite a lot of the guys were involved with that along with myself. So, on a nightly basis the guys had to practice with the national team and then come to Ovals to practice. It was really a struggle, but it came out very rewarding,” he said.
Joshua Minner led the charge for Ovals with 20 points while there were 13 points each for Tavarus Benta and Sheldon Gomes. Darius Richards led the way for Spanish Heat with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Browne said the focus is now on the much more competitive playoffs.
“Playoffs is where the real teams come to the fore. Anybody can perform well in the regular season, but in the playoffs you’re going to have to play the best of the best. So, there is where you show if you’re really championship material because every night is going to be a battle,” the coach said.
Also on Tuesday, Flyers Basketball beat Ottos Full Throttle 85-58 for their eighth win in 12 games as they move to 20 points and a chance at a third place finish.
Jabari Williams led the scoring for Flyers with 23 points while grabbing 15 rebounds. There were 13 points each for Javonte Daley and David Hernandez. Warren Bogle and Lincoln Weeks hit 21 and 20 points respectively for Full Throttle.
