The BD Basketball District King League came to a close on Saturday at the Multi-purpose Sports Complex with District 2, the Lakers and District 6 being crowned this year’s champions in their respective divisions.
“Everything went fine,” said organiser and referee Brian “Bash” Brewley.
The league had 17 teams in three different divisions — Under-10, the 11-13 Division and the 14-16 Division.
In the 14-16 Division, District 2 beat District 5, 47-41.
Romaine Minnot of District 2 was named the Most Valuable player of the division.
In the Under-10 Division,the Virgin Gorda Lakers beat the Spurs of Sea Cows Bay, 17-15.
In the 11-13 Division, District 6 took the championship over District 5, 31-19.
The Under-10 Division playoffs were played on a half court with the baskets lowered to eight feet, while the other divisions played with the rims set at 12 feet and on a full court. The officials also gave some leeway when it came to fouls. However, the officials did not give any slack for poor sportsmanship.
“It is a no nonsense league,” Mr. Brewley said.
Sportsmanship trophies were presented to players in each division. (See the April 25, 2013 issue.).
“[The league] has gotten bigger,” Mr. Brewley said. “All the children look forward to it each year.”
There were some “new faces,” but there were a lot of the same players from previous years, the organiser said.
It is the tournament’s fourth year and things are getting “smoother,” but some aspects of the league can be improved like participation and support from parents, Mr. Brewley added.
“When the parents come out there is a totally different behaviour from their child,” he said. “I think that they are leaving all the strain on the coaches.”
He added that some of the coaches have to travel by themselves with 12 or more kids to the games.
“It can be a difficult [situation] to deal with,” Mr. Brewley said.
Some coaches work with two or three teams, like Gertrude Thomas who coached the District 6 team to a championship. Her Under-10 Division team lost in the sem-finals to the Lakers.
However, Mr. Brewley said he has seen an improvement with the players’ skills.
The league runs for about five weeks, but a lot of games are scheduled during the Easter break when there is no school.
“We just try to make it as quick as possible so the kids can get back into school,” Mr. Brewley said.
He added that there are a few players who have the potential to play at the next level in the domestic league or on the national team.
“They are really getting better at the 14- and 16-year-old level,” Mr. Brewley said. “They really impressed me.”
The District 9 teams were the defending champions, except in the 14-16 Division, which they placed second last year.
“They are some of the most dominant teams in the tournament,” Mr. Brewley said. “They are well coached.”
Aside from the coaching, Mr. Brewley said there is a “bigger pool of talent” to choose from when it comes to District 9.
“The other districts might have a pool of 30 to 40 kids to choose from, but [Trevor “West” Stevens] might have 100 kids to choose from,” Mr. Brewley said.
The VG teams had to make the trip by ferry to Tortola for the playoffs, but it wasn’t a problem for the under-10 defending champions — the Lakers.
“It was so easy, because they were so small,” KJ Bascombe said, after winning their semi-final game.
Several of the Lakers players knew they had a shot of winning the championship, because of their height and experience. The players also credited their success to listening to their coach, Mr. Stevens.
“Our coach said don’t pick up our dribbling,” said Kahmani Caul.
In between the championship games, an exhibition girls match was played. Nuff Respect beat the ESHS Girls, 26-23.
Mr. Brewley is optimistic about the future of the league and is looking forward to next year.
“The [players] are very competitive. We are definitely going to see a better crop coming up,” he said.
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