Barbados have the best 3x3 Under-18 basketball talent in the region having captured the IBF Antilles Championship title in both the males and females Saturday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in Guyana.
The nine-member squad led by national coach Terry Inniss existed the arrival section of the Grantley Adams International Airport with their trophies having dethroned Martinique on Saturday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
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(From left) MVP Kiserian Adams, Rasheed Maynard, Deroni Hurley and Darren Nurse captured the boys Under-18 title. (Pictures by Morissa Lindsay).[/caption]
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(From left) Rebecca Simpson, Stephian Shepherd, Zehra Ashby and Alesha Squires - the victorious women’s team.[/caption]
According to Inniss resilience was the key to Barbados' overall success despite the weekend-long tournament being a challenging one competing against seven countries. He said: “It was taxing and definitely not easy but they are a resilient bunch and they went out there and worked hard. We had the best shooter and that played a crucial role in our performance.”
Barbados did not only take both silverware but they also claimed most valuable players that went to Combined Schools' Lady Trident point-guard Alesha Squires and Kiserian Adams who respectively were rewarded with final's MVP and the most impressive in the shootout competition.
Squires expressed her joy and said conditions were easy to adapt and that made her more comfortable to deliver. “I am very happy. I expected the shooting competition but not the MVP,” said Squires who will depart Barbados on Wednesday to participate in the Digicel JumpStart camp.
Squires played alongside Zahra Ashby, Stephian Shepherd and first-timer Rebecca Simpson. Meanwhile, the victorious males side comprising Rasheed Maynard, Deroni Hurley, Darren Nurse and captain Kiserian Adams. Adams led from the front to ensure he brought home Men's MVP and also won the shooting showdown.
There were seven participating teams each in this year's competition and Barbados will return their gold medal squad to court next year in the girls. However, Deroni Hurley will be the only one returning in the boys because Adams, Maynard and Nurse will not be eligible.
Adams said the team last year compared to this year when they played in St Lucia was a lot stronger and they were able to execute better on the court.
“The first year in St Lucia we did not do well but this year we unlocked our confidence and had a lot more time to work on our game,” Adams said stating how easy it was to gel with his Pinelands teammates Maynard and Hurley.
morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
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