[hr] Caracas, Venezuela – Jamaica defeated Brazil, 78-76 and eliminated the Brazilian team from the FIBA Americas Championship. On the other hand, the team led by Sam Vincent qualified for the second Round of the tournament. Samardo Samuels was the top scorer for Jamaica, with 21 points. After the initial 5-2 run by Jamaica, Brazil got a 9-2 run, with conversions of Joao Batista, Alex Garcia, Guilherme and Marcelinho Huertas, to move the scoreboard to 11-7 in their favor. But Jamaica adjusted their defense and could take several counterattacks to go ahead 15-13. The scoreboard was even, the teams exchanged baskets and at the end of the quarter, Jamaica was winning, 18-17. In the second quarter the parity remained, both teams were looking for the ticket to the second round of the tournament. Brazil began to climb the scoreboard with Neto and Larry Taylor to make it 21-18. Meanwhile, Jamaica became strong in the paint with Samardo Samuels. But Brazil hurt again with Alex and Neto, on the high stretch, and escaped with a 4 point lead (36-33). But the score at the end of the second quarter went to the team led by Sam Vincent, 39-36. [hr] [column2] [/column2] […]
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[hr] In an exact replica of the 2009 World Youth Championship, Jamaica and England took to the court to contest for third place, and it was Jamaica, as it was in the Cook Islands, who will take their place on the podium. A close first quarter saw the Jamaicans end it three ahead, and they looked fired up to continue their success through to the end, which the did, 52 goals to England’s 33. This was the fourth time England and Jamaica have faced each other in seven weeks, and the Jamaicans were a confident outfit from the start, having won the previous three meets. Jamaica played a faster game than England, and were quick at passing and moving throughout all areas of the court. England’s style was slower, more patient, but today there was inconsistency in passing and shooting. “All of them know they could have done that little bit better.” said coach Colette Thomson. “There were a few bad passes, a few missed shots but we still felt we had a chance of winning today.” [hr] [column2] [/column2] [column2_last] [/column2_last] [hr] Thomson said the English were aiming for a medal and knows the result will be hurting the […]
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[hr] Jamaican Youth Show Promise as Branden Rhoden scores game high 3 goals in the loss History was made as St. George’s College played host to the first ever Jamaica Friendship Games, which pitted the Jamaica Select U-19 boys team against a squad from the USA that was in Jamaica as part of the Lacrosse Volunteer Corps program run by the non-profit organization, Fields of Growth. The young Jamaicans dropped the match-up by a score of 9-4, but were impressive in their debut going goal for goal with their international counterparts in the second half. The milestone event also featured a women’s demonstration game that included Jamaica’s top high school girls lacrosse players and American volunteers. The US squad came out sharp and controlled the early part of the game, with long controlled possessions aimed at creating high percentage scoring opportunities while also demonstrating a balanced team offense to all the Jamaicans in attendance. The first half scoring opened midway through the first quarter when Ben and Adam Rosenthal (Union College, Tiburon, CA) connected on a back door cut. The American squad went on to rattle off 3 consecutive goals before Jansen Nicholas (Iroquois Nation) found Adam Ghitelman (Virginia, Cold […]
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[hr] Top dogs of group C Jamaica and Scotland battled it out on court for the number one spot, and Jamaica convincingly beat the hosts 65-30. The Scottish defence worked well together in the first half with some effective pressure. Goal Keeper, Shaungah McCuaig played particularly well, hassling her shooter with good effect, but the ball lay firmly with the Jamaicans as they powered it through the court, building up a lead of 18 goals to 9 at the first break. The start of the second quarter saw a small glint of hope for Scotland. They started the quarter strongly and looked set to bring back the lead. However Jamaica retaliated with a 10 goal scoring spree and from then on it was all down hill for the Scots. Despite the loud cheering from the home crowd, Scotland couldn’t hold it together and unforced errors began to creep in. Jamaica remained consistent, and eased through the remainder of the match. With two games left of the group stages, Jamaica’s captain Vangelee Williams was fearless in her expectations. “We’re very much confident. We’re pretty sure we’ll win.” [hr] [column2] [/column2] [column2_last] [/column2_last] [hr] Editorial courtesy Farah Hasan, Planet Netball […]
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[hr] Jamaican outshone Samoa in their first game, winning by a comfortable 64 goals to 20. But it was far from an easy ride. Samoa put on an excellent performance, putting pressure on the ball and forcing Jamaica to use a long pass that was easily intercepted. It was the strong Jamaican defence that prevented Samoa notching up the goals – their dominance in the circle made it difficult for Samoa to feed their shooters, and their elevation ensured it was them who got the rebounds. Being the tallest team in the competition, Jamaica used it to their advantage by utilising Shantal Slater, a 6ft 2 inch shooter, to convert their efforts into goals in the first half. However miscommunication and misjudged catching in the circle meant that easy balls were lost to the Samoans. After a confident win in A tri nation tournament including England and Trinidad & Tobago earlier this year, they have high expectations. “We’re looking to go all the way” said Jamaican Head Coach, Oberon Pitterson-Nattie, “but we’re taking it one game at a time.” [hr] [column2] [/column2] [column2_last] [/column2_last] [hr] Editorial courtesy Farah Hasan, Planet Netball Photos by Tom Roberts
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