Christopher Collins had every reason to feel pressure this year.
His Bodden Town basketball team lost star player Jamaal Miller. Collins, 14, was pushed hard to excel by father James ‘Cadillac’ Collins, who returned as the team’s assistant coach.
Yet Collins, who turns 15 next month, not only dealt with those expectations; he exceeded them. Bodden Town recently claimed its second straight PricewaterhouseCoopers Under 16 Basketball League championship by beating Phillip Webb’s Shockwaves 44-27. The Bodden Town native, who was named Finals Most Valuable Player, states he was driven to win.
“It was a great game,” Collins said. “It didn’t feel like a final. Though we won big the Shockwaves did compete. It’s just we played out every minute. Phillip is a tremendous player and from the first game of the season we recognized that. The game plan was to shut him down and have him pass the ball up. He did and we prospered.
“It was tough being not as good as I am now. It took lots of training from time last season ended and that fuelled me through to being the Most Improved Player of the year to Finals MVP.”
Collins had a solid game registering eight points and 13 rebounds. He got help from fellow big man David Scott (nine points, 12 rebounds) and scoring guard Dominique Martucee (13 points, six steals). For Shockwaves Webb was kept largely in check with 13 points and 19 rebounds. He did not have much help as guards Tevin Yen and Arin Taylor managed just nine points and one assist combined.
The victory not only marked another title for Bodden Town, but an unbeaten season. The side went 6-0 during the regular season before getting past Travis Stroup and Wesleyan Christian Academy in the semi-finals and then the Shockwaves in the finals.
Cadillac, who won numerous titles in flag football with the Hellcats, states the unbeaten run stands out most to him.
“Next to them losing their first game last season, these boys haven’t lost in over a year,” Cadillac said. “For the kids to live up to expectations says a lot. I’m proud of them, it shows hard work pays off. They did some hard work for me and head coach Tim Howard in training. They practiced twice a week at the Bodden Town Civic Centre and even a lot of the older guys like Jamaal Miller and Alfredo Cardosa would come out and participate. They’re good children, good team-mates and a close group.
“As for the final, Phillip is a great player but we locked him down. That was the game plan and things went from there. We had to control the rebounds and David Scott, the biggest kid on the team, was huge in rebounding and free-throw shooting. Also Shaquille Heath did well on defence as he blocked a ton of shots.
“Ultimately Bodden Town is not a stranger to championships. In basketball the last good run was five or six years ago under Shomari Scott. Tim and I just want to follow in the footsteps of the Bodden Town football club and get basketball on the same level as football in the community.”
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