Young boys should be in their droves on the court again tonight.
From 6pm the Digicel Court on Eastern Avenue will host two games.
Josh Cotterell is arguably the leagues best player |
The games are part of week six of the Cayman Islands Basketball Association Boys U19 League.
In the first match-up Tarheels, lead by stand-out Josh Cotterell, takes on fellow league front-runner Esso Blazers.
Look for an interesting match-up between the run and gun style offense of the Tarheels and the half-court mindset of the Blazers.
Cotterell’s scoring will be needed but the passing and ball control of guard David Taylor will decide the game for Tarheels. For Blazers the rebounding of Brandon Glasgow and Stephen Babb is critical for their success.
In the second game, which is slated to start at 7:45pm, bottom club Future SC battles Wolves and big man Darryl Paddyfoot.
Future SC is a club that prefers contests to be low-scoring affairs and has done well when their opponents score under 60 points.
The Wolves rely heavily on their inside game but their ability to hit perimeter shots and stretch the defense will be huge.
Look for an interesting match-up between the role players for both teams. Future needs Jarrett Terry and Nicholas Roberts to be active while Wolves need Ben Stoner and David Terry to make shots.
CIBA Technical Director Victor ‘Voot’ O’Garro alongside son Dwight O’Garro and Ishmael Perez are expected to be part of the officiating crew for tonight’s games.
Pre-season league favourites Tarheels look to keep up their play from last week while Wolves are coming off of an abysmal week five performance.
Tarheels won their last game against Redemption, albeit by just three points. Cotterell was a one-man wreaking ball, pounding home 30 points to lead all scorers. He also cleaned the glass with 16 rebounds.
However the defense was suspect as Bruce Thompson had 20 points and 24 rebounds while Justin Connolly chipped in with 19 points.
That fact will need to change against an Esso Blazers with plenty of firepower. In their last game Stephen Shaw had 25 points and 17 rebounds while Patrick Barnes went off for 33 points including four three-point bombs.
Wolves are looking to rebound from a 54 point loss at the hands of the Silver Bullets. Paddyfoot was the lone bright spot of the team with 15 points and 17 rebounds.
The defense will have to be sharper tonight if they hope to prevent another team from posting four players in double digits.
Wolves will especially need to shut down Daniel Powery of Future SC. Powery flashed a strong mid-range game and scored 21 points in his last match.
Coming into the week Josh Cotterell of Tarheels leads all scorers averaging 29.4 points per game. He leads the league in three pointers made (9) and two point field goals made (56) and he has also scored the most points in a league game with 43.
David Taylor of Tarheels leads the league in assists with 4.4 per game. He has the most assists in the league with 22 and is third in steals with 20.
Stephen Shaw of Esso Blazers leads the league in rebounds with 20.5 boards per game. Shaw has the most offensive rebounds with 44 boards and has the second-most total rebounds with 82 boards.
The final game of week six is slated to take place on Saturday. The Digicel Court is expected to see local sportsman Deandre Simpson lead the Silver Bullets into battle against West Bay-based team Redemption at 4pm.
Saturday will also see two games for week seven of the CIBA U19 Girls League. At 6pm Comets battle Monarchs while Sparks battle Lynx at 7:45pm.
Comets are coming off their first win of the season and are looking to build up a winning streak. Monarchs meanwhile want to seal a win with star player Christiana McLean.
In the other game Kimberly Pitta and the Sparks will aim to get by arch-rival Catherine Ebanks and the Lynx. In their last encounter Coach Colin Bodden and the Sparks were upset 37-31 by an undermanned Lynx side.
For all the latest results visit the Cayman Islands Basketball Association website at www.caymanbasketball.org.
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