Marian Academy lost the wrong game to end their undefeated streak in the National Schools Basketball Festival (NSBF) when they fell to the much superior Kwakwani team last Sunday evening at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) 46-66.
Both teams sped out of the gates shooting well as Kwakwani played a smooth midrange game while Marian played well in their offensive set as the quarter ended 16-12 in favour of the Region Ten natives.
The second quarter was where Kwakwani separated themselves as the more dominant side as they started to bury three pointers while finding their way into the paint to open a 17-point lead over the Georgetown- based private school as the first half ended 36-19.
However, Marian came out hot in the third quarter with their own run as Ruel Ritch and Dominic Vincente employed their tactics by running the basketball to help close the lead to twelve before Kwakwani answered to end the third quarter with a score of 48-32. In the final quarter it was evident that while Marian was still trying to play hard basketball, they were running out of time without being able to close the gap between themselves and Kwakwani before the final buzzer signaled victory for Kwakwani as the 2012 NSBF champions.
Leonard Primo torched Marian with his speed and accuracy from the field as he scored a game high 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as well. Eventual Most Valuable Player (MVP) Dominique Douglas ended with 13 points in the win.
Ritch ended with 13 points and 13 rebounds as his effort to try and lead Marian to a comeback was well documented while Vincente who was the team’s highest scorer was only able to muster eight points.
Meanwhile earlier in the evening Kwakwani’s under-16 team mirrored their seniors by blowing away Bishops’ High School with an 82-68 win.
While Bishops’ High played well finding their way consistently to the rim they were simply no match for Kwakwani as everything they shot seemed likely to score.
Kerrol Phillips was phenomenal with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds while his teammates Kevin Joseph and Otiano Conway had 27 and 14 points respectively. Daniel Haynes of Bishops’ High School was a beast in the low post on both the defensive and offensive side of the ball as he scored 28 points while grabbing 20 rebounds – the most by any player for the NSBF in 2012. Marvin Durant also had double-double of a game high 29 points along with 10 rebounds in the blowout loss.
With the presentation ceremony being held immediately after the games, Ann Gordon of Kwakwani was named Coach of the Tournament for coaching both the junior and senior teams to their respective championships. Marian Academy received the Best Sportsmanlike Team while Marlon Pollydore of Linden Technical Institute received the Senior Class Award.
