Hydel, St George's cop all-island titles

Kwesi Mugisa, Gleaner Writer

Hydel High School withstood a furious late fourth-quarter spell to fend off a resilient St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) and claim the ISSA/KFC National Basketball Championship, with a 60-53 win at the National Stadium courts last night.

In the day's other game, defending Under-16 champions St George's College retained their crown after getting the better of a spirited Belair 38-35 in a low-scoring encounter.

In the Under-19 final, despite being outscored 13-9 in the first quarter, STATHS bombarded their opponents in the second. Led by 22 points and 15 rebounds from centre Joel Green, who dominated both the offensive and defensive boards earlier on, the Bumper Hall-based school outscored their opponents to secure a 33-26 lead at half-time.

Lamond Lindsay scored straight out of the break, perhaps signalling STATHS's intention to pull away from their opponents, but it proved an empty threat.

Hydel, led by 21 points and nine rebounds from their big man, Paul Richards, came storming back to level the score early in the third quarter and take a two-point lead at 46-44 by the end.

A huge three-pointer by Chadrick McKenzie, which pushed the lead to 10 points with three minutes to go, seemed to signal the end of the encounter, but STATHS made a huge effort in the remaining minutes.

Forced turnovers

After forcing several turnovers from a nervy-looking Hydel, they had cut the lead to 53-56 with 1:28 to go.

With yet another turnover leading to a glorious opportunity, spectators, who held their breath as Lindsay launched a three-pointer in an attempt to tie the game, could only exhale in disappointment as the shot rolled all around the rim before popping back out.

"This trophy means a lot to us, we really wanted it but we will have to try again," said Venrecce Watson, STATHS's coach.

"The boys did their best but got a little frustrated in the end and tried to do it all on their own. Hydel came out well and planned for us, we will be graceful losers," he added.

Hydel's coach, Kurt Stewart, was overjoyed by the win and pointed out that it was a complete effort from everyone involved in the programme.

"Any win is a satisfactory one. We worked hard for this one and we deserve it," he said.

"Part of our success is due to our excellent preparation this season. We received 100 per cent from the school in everything and I would like to dedicate this victory to them."

In the Under-16 encounter, St George's were led by Jhawn Graham's 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Romerio Veals was the most outstanding player for Belair with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.