Phillip Webb is one of the stars of youth basketball but is on a team struggling to keep their footing.
The Grand Pavilion Shockwaves are in third place in the boys segment of the Appleby Under-19 Basketball League. The Shockwaves are 3-3 after a 47-44 defeat to team Bodden Town last Tuesday at the Cayman Islands Basketball Association court.
Webb, 16, states the defeat came down to a lack of possession.
“We had too many turnovers,” Webb said. “We need to pass the ball more into space. On defence we’re giving up too much. We can challenge teams but we got to play harder. We can’t give up.”
The George Town native is a formidable big man, averaging 16.6 points (third-best in the league) and 20.8 rebounds (tops in the competition) per game. Webb, in his second U19 season, has teamed up with established talent Rashaad Powery-Saunds (19.8ppg and 15.6rpg) and Dominic Martucci (13.2ppg) to create a solid core.
Nevertheless, Webb and head coach Jonathan Powery see their Shockwaves just percentage points ahead of the 3-3 Esso Blazers for the fourth and final playoff spot. There are roughly three weeks left in the regular season.
For the record Bodden Town is second at 4-1, Wesleyan Christian Academy is fifth at 1-4 and John Gray High School is sixth at 0-5. All will be in action on Tuesday, 8 November as Esso faces BT at 6pm while John Gray tangles with Wesleyan at 7.30pm.
The Shockwaves just faced the Wolves on Saturday. Coach Duran ‘Trini’ Whittaker’s troops look primed for a repeat U19 championship with a 5-0 record atop the standings. The green gang are fresh off a 96-26 thrashing of John Gray High last Tuesday.
Wolves star player Peter Grant, 16, is the league’s leading scorer with 33.3ppg. The George Town native, in his second season with the team and his fourth U19 campaign, states the emphasis the rest of the season will be on defence.
“We still need to play more D and share the ball more,” Grant said. “We have to work on spacing. Offence wins games but defence wins championships.”
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