As youth basketball nears its postseason, one side to watch is team Bodden Town.
Nicknamed the Reapers, BT sits second in the boys division of the Appleby Under-19 Basketball League. The squad has a 5-1 record, with their only loss at the hands of the unbeaten league leaders Wolves (6-0).
One of the established names for the club is forward Maynor Brooks, 15. The BT resident states his team is primed for success.
“We have shown we’re a good team,” Brooks said. “We went hard and we’ve been training for this (league). We’re set up for this and we’ve strode for this time. We want to win this.”
On paper Brooks may not be that intimidating, averaging 5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. However he has turned it on of late with stellar outings against the Grand Pavilion Shockwaves (13 points, five steals) and Esso Blazers (eight points, seven rebounds).
Brooks is only in his second U19 league but knows what it takes to win a competition. He guided BT to the U16 championship earlier this year. With many of those U16 players (like Christopher Collins and Shaquille Heath) taking part in this league, Brooks is confident his red warriors can keep it together for another title run.
“We’re focusing on our team. We got to work on our defence and fix the mistakes. We can challenge our opponents and I’m confident we can be in the championship game.”
The next test for Bodden Town comes on Tuesday, 15 November, at the Cayman Islands Basketball Association court off Eastern Avenue. BT face a 2-4 Wesleyan Christian Academy side at 7.30pm. Wesleyan have struggled but are coming off a 63-44 victory over 0-6 John Gray High School last Tuesday. While Travis Stroup had an off game (four points, nine rebounds), the West Bay resident has been a star on the team with 9.7ppg, 8.5rpg and two double-doubles on the season.
With the victory Stroup, 15, feels confident in his side making a late playoff push.
“We can do it, we have the ability and the talent,” Stroup said. “The defeats were close. We lost to Shockwaves by like seven points, the Blazers by three points and with Bodden Town we were right with them until the fourth quarter (the first time around). We can do it, it’s about keeping it together, especially in the fourth.”
If Wesleyan is to have a chance at an upset, they will need more heroics from star Tim Corbett. Against John Gray he had 18 points and 15 rebounds, putting him fourth in the league in scoring (15.8ppg) and sixth in rebounding (10.8rpg). In addition role players like Naithique Jackson (16 points, six rebounds against John Gray) will need to keep stepping up.
Outside of BT versus Wesleyan, Tuesday sees the 3-4 Shockwaves tackle John Gray at 6pm.
The Shockwaves are barely hanging on to third place in the league and are coming off a 71-48 thrashing by the Wolves. While Phillip Webb is the star (third in scoring with 16.1ppg and first in rebounding with 24.0rpg), he needs more consistent play from point guard Dominique Martucci (nine points, nine turnovers against the Wolves).
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