Road Stars - Roseau Valley Basketball League champions. Photo credit: Edgar George

Road Stars defeated the Hoosiers by a final score of 90-83 pts., in game 5, of the best-of-5 series finals to win the championship although both teams came into this final game, with the series tied at 2 games apiece.

The Hoosiers having won the 1st& 3rd, while the Road Stars, the 2nd & 4th. The Hoosiers were without key players, Orlando George & Charles Williams, who were unavailable for the entire series, as well as Felix Thomas for the Road Stars.

The tension, anxiety & suspense began on the days leading up to this game. Fans for either team, took the game extremely serious, as they both wanted a victory. Players were threatened to the point, where they were told they would have to leave the village if they lost.

They turned out in large numbers to support their teams, along with their horns, conch shells, whistles, buckets & galvanize to make their noise. There were even 2 coffins on hand, both painted in the teams colours, & with the losing teams own to be burnt to a crust. The referees were Mr. Allan Morris, Jeffery Murdock & Kent Daniel.

The game began with the exact, N.B.A style introduction for the teams, along with live commentary throughout.The 1st period was a very balance affair, but was particularly dominated by 1 player from either team. Royce Caesar for the Hoosiers & Javeed Joseph for the Road Stars, clearly showed, they them meant business& wanted the championship. The quarter ended with both teams locked on 20 pts.

Caesar had 14 & joseph, 16, of their teams 20 pts. Quarter #2 was a lot more open for the teams. They played their own style & class, both trying to stop the other from dominating. The Hoosier though, opened up a small lead in the final minutes, and closed off with the advantage on their side, leading by 8 pts., 43-35. The half time entertainment, of mothers, both young& old, shooting free throws to win prizes, certainly was a crowd pleaser& this kept them satisfied & anxious from more basketball. By that time, the crowd was about 300 strong & growing.

With the 3rdquarter kicking off, & down by 8, the Road Stars opened on a 6-0 run, taking the lead down to 2 pts. The teams continued to battle out, hard & tirelessly for the entire period. A lot of lead changes & ties came along with this. The domination of both teams showed, but it was still closely knit. Every basket, ever block, every steal, every foul, everything, was cheered on by the fans. The atmosphere was totally rocking. The Road Star though, came from the period, now, having overturned the 8 pt., half time deficit, & now leading by 3 pts., 63-60.

Final quarter to go & the likes of Joseph “Boone”Jno. Baptiste, Royce Caesar, Edgar George, Ramal Carbon & Curtis John, were not going down without a fight, as well as Fitzgerald Daniel, Julian Isles, Javeed Joseph, Simon “To-To” Joseph & Patrick Lafonse not going to let it slip away. The Road Stars opened with another small lead in the opening quarter, and maintained all through, the open 6 minutes. Baskets were traded on both ends of the floor.

Every run that the Hoosiers made was answered by the Road Stars. With about 3 min to go, down by 7 pts., back to back 3 pointers from the Hoosiers, made the basketball arena erupt. The noise level was absolutely ridiculous. You could not hear yourself, not could you hear anything else. Players were struggling to hear the buzzer, when it went off, for a violation. You could smell something special in the air, & the crowd kept it up with the noise.

It was like World Cup 2010 in South Africa with the Vuvuzelas. But, 2 big 3 pointers, from veteran player, Simon “To-To” Joseph, silenced the crowd & the noise was now coming from the Road Stars fans. And with 3 crucial turnovers in the final minutes for the Hoosiers, it was all but over for them as the Road Stars closed of the game winning 90-83 pts., & securing their 2nd championship in their history.

Certainly a very exciting & interesting final game; one for the ages. Congratulations to the Elvis Welding Services Road Stars -2012 Roseau Valley Basketball League Champions. The party went on till 4 a.m. Monday morning, after the game had concluded at 10 p.m. The 2012 season has now come to an end, as the attention now turns to the D.A.B.A as well as our Roseau Valley Basketball League.

Trafalgar is the place to be, for everything sporting. The official awards presentation ceremony will be held on Sunday 20thMay. A rep. from each of the teams which participated, are to be present. The 2012-2013 basketball season re opens on November 10th, 2012, to April 2013 & is guaranteed to be much bigger & better. Be there to support your team.

Top performers for Road Stars were; Javeed Joseph – 34 pts, 7 reb, Simon“To-To” Joseph – 21 pts, 6 reb, 3 blks, Julian Isles – 18 pts, 9 reb, 3 blks and Fitzgerald Daniel – 13 pts, 9 asts

Top performers for Hoosiers were; Royce Caesar – 29 pts, 3 reb, 4 asts, Joseph “Boone” Jno. Baptiste – 19 pts, 7 reb, 8 asts and Curtist John – 10 pts, 4 reb

By: Edgar George

On Thursday 10th, the Elvis Welding Services Road Stars, defeated the Upper Village Hoosiers by the final score of 98-96 points, in game 4, of the best-of-5 series finals, in the Roseau Valley Basketball League.

The Hoosiers came into this game leading the series 2-1, and would be looking to be closing of the series, & getting their 1st championship in doing so, while the Road stars would be ensuring that this in not so, and force a game 5. The Hoosiers were again without key players, Orlando George & Charles Williams, who will not be available for the rest of the series due to knee injuries, while the Road Stars are still without Thomas Felix, who is in out of state.

As usual, there was a lot of hype & suspense before this game. The crowd support on hand was again excellent, with their horns, conch shells, buckets and galvanize. The referees were Mr. Jeffery Murdock, Mc’Dowe & Peggy.

The 1st period of this game belonged completely to the Road Stars, as they were the ones who dominated early & kept the pressure on the Hoosiers to work hard. They were surely on point in the early going. Their offence & defense was 1st class.

They were up for the fight, & were not in any mood to simply give up the series.

The Hoosiers rarely had anything going for them, as they were inconsistent and the majority of their 15 points in this opening quarter, came from second chance opportunities. The game was still closely knit, but the road stars closed of leading, 22-15: an advantage of 7 points.

By period 2, the game began to get extremely tense for both teams. The game became more of a balanced affair. They were now both in it, as they played & dominated in their own style & fashion. Along with this brought a lot of lead changes & ties. At the half, the Hoosiers had erased the 7 point 1st period deficit, & were now leading, but only by a minimal 4 points, 42-38.
Quarter number 3 had started, & things turned a bit nasty.

The whole of the Hoosiers team were already in foul trouble with only 1 sub. Royce Ceasar had 4, Ramal Carbon had 4, Curtis John had 3 & Edgar George with 3 as well. The players from the Hoosiers, as well as certain fans were of the opinion that a certain referee was against them, as the majority of the calls went against them, while the Road Stars felt a sense of justice was being done, as they too complained of the decisions in game 3.

It was extremely tense at this moment, with even violence being shouted from the stands. Everyone was on edge. Players, supporters, referees, & even the clock man. To add to that, it was extremely cold, with strong winds at the basketball arena in Trafalgar. But…… The excitement was still in the air. The Road Stars opened up a 10 point lead, with about 5 minutes to go, until the Hoosiers tightened up a bit, and closed the quarter, down again, trailing by 4 points, 66-62.

The 4th quarter took about 6 minutes, before it began, as there was still a lot of fracas, & confusion going on. Everyone was complaining. Eventually, it started. The Road Stars opened another lead, this time of 8, but maintained it all through, till about 2 minutes, until things got interesting. Baskets were being traded on both ends of the floor, as the Road Stars kept their lead up. The likes of Julian Isles, Fitzgerald Daniel, Javeed Joseph, worked hard for the Road Stars, while, as usual, the work horse, Joseph “Boone’ Jno. Baptiste did all the work for the Hoosiers, and received great help from his fellow villager, Royce Caesar.

But that was the end of the line in terms of help for them, as Ramal Carbon had fouled out long time, and 3 other players sitting on 4 fouls. In the final seconds of play, being down by 4 points, there was a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel for the Hoosiers, with Jno. Baptiste being fouled twice, shooting 3 pointers, but, having missed the 1st of the 2 sets of free throws, that was the end of the line for the Hoosiers, losing by 2 points, 98-96.

And with that, came more noise,& confusion at the final whistle. Series tied 2-2 with the final game to be played on Sunday 13th, at 7:30 p.m. at the Trafalgar Basketball court. Will certainly be exciting. Great mother’s day present.

Top performers for Road Stars were; Javeed Joseph – 24 pts, 7 reb, 4 asts, Fitzgerald Daniel – 22 pts, 11 asts, Julian Isles – 16 pts, 13 reb, 3 blks, Patrick Lafonce – 15 pts, 8 reb and Simon “Toto’ Joseph – 12 pts, 4 reb.

Top performers for Hoosiers were; Joseph “Boone’ Jno. Baptiste – 41 pts, 6 reb, 6 asts, Royce Caesar – 34 pts, 5 asts and Ramal Carbon – 9 pts, 5 reb.

Game 5 will be played on Sunday 13th May from 7:30 p.m.

By: Edgar George

The National Lottery Lambert Henderson Cricket League continues this weekend with matches with the follows matches on the card:

On Saturday May 13th 2012 Dubique Uprisers come up against Geneva Housing Strikers while on Sunday it will be D Supply Pichelin versus Hagley United.

Meantime matches in the Justina Charles Southern District Rounders’ League have been suspended this weekend to enable the ladies to participate in Mothers’ Day activities in their respective communities.

Southern District Sports Committee

On Tuesday 8th, the Upper Village Hoosiers defeated the Elvis Welding Services Road Stars by the final score of 107-98, in game 3, of the best-of-5 series final, in the Roseau Valley Basketball League. The teams came into this game, both having previously won, 1 game each.

The Hoosiers won game 1 by 13 pts, while the Road Stars got the better of them in game 2, winning by 15. Confidence was high in both camps, as a game 3 win, would mean only 1 more victory needed, & the championship would be theirs. The Hoosiers were without key players, Orlando George & Charles Williams, who will not be available for the rest of the series due to knee injuries, while the Road Stars are still without Thomas Felix, who was supposed to be available for this game, but did not show.

As usual, there was a lot of hype & suspense before this game. The crowd support on hand was again excellent, & will continue to be, as things get tighter between the teams. The referees were Mr. Jeffery Douglas & Charles Hodge, both from Trafalgar.
The game started with a bit of irregularity, with the referees wasting no time, & starting the game bang on schedule. Problem was, the Hoosiers team had not gotten their jerseys as yet, as they were held by the coach, & he was a bit late in his arrival.

Nevertheless, the referees decided to go ahead, and have the players open the match, in their street clothes,( till the end of the 1st quarter) while the Road Stars were fully dressed & looked like a team ready to play basketball. Of the previous 2 games, this opening quarter was the most exciting. A total of 57 points was scored between the teams; 34 for the Hoosiers & 23 for the Road Stars.

The Hoosiers were on top from the get go, leading by as many as 13 points, in this early going. Their usual quick tempo & pace was paying off, as they ran rugged. The Road Stars though, did not let this get to them, as they crawled slowly back into the game. The shouts of “don’t put on that uniform, don’t put on that uniform, all you will lose” was the chant from the Hoosiers supporters, & they booed in a loud voice when it was eventually put on.

The 2nd period opened, with offence again, strongly dominating, just like the 1st. The fast breaks, the 3 pointers & dunks were working for both teams. Players were certainly on point, as every member of each team, played their part. In the previous 2 games, the Road Stars lead by 6 points respectively, but there was a turn in the tables, as the Hoosier, having never trailed, closed of the half, leading by 9 points, 67-58.

The only down point in the opening half, was the continuous complaints by both teams about the lack of calls for their team, & also the number of calls going against them. Other than that, smooth sailing.

Quarter 3, was all about the Hoosiers. Building upon their 9 point, 1st half lead, they played hard, & extended it to as many as 22 points. The game had surely seemed to be theirs at this moment. The quarter was closed with them lead by 19 points, 86-67. The Road Stars were held to only 18 points in this quarter, while the Hoosiers scored 28. The 4th period saw the Road Stars work extremely harder than the previous 3. Their defense had stepped up, & the Hoosiers were now finding it a bit harder to score in the opening 4 minutes. The lead was brought down to 10 points, but a slight laps in concentration, allowed the Hoosiers some easy baskets, and got the lead pushed back up to 17 points, with 4 minutes to go. The score at this moment the score was 100-83.

And from then on, things got really interesting. The Road Stars slowly started to eat into the lead, like termites eating wood. It came down, & down, & down, & continued to come down. It was very anxious moments. The lead had now dropped to only 9 points, 102-93 with about a minute to go. The Road Stars then scored, to bring it down to 7, with 48 seconds left, & from here, all hell broke loose.

Complaints from the Road Stars team had suggested that the clock had not stopped after they had scored. The referees took a time out to discuss & this caused more confusion. Total fracas & extreme chaos in the dying seconds of the game. This resulted in 2 players from the Road Stars team, receiving technical fouls. After 3 of the 4 technical shots were made, the game was now put to bed, with the Hoosiers winning 107-98, & lead the best-of-5 series 2-1.

Top performers for Hoosiers were; Joseph “Boone” Jno. Baptiste – 35 pts, 6 reb, 6 asts, Royce Caesar – 27 pts, 4 reb, 7 asts, Curtist Joseph – 18 pts, 3 reb and Ramal Carbon – 15 pts, 11 reb, 2 blks

Top performers for Road Stars were; Fitzgerald Daniel – 28 pts, 11 asts, 3 stls, Julian Isles – 26 pts, 10 reb, 2 blks, Javeed Joseph – 16 pts, 5 reb, 4 asts and Simon Joseph – 13 pts, 4 reb, 5 asts

Game 4 is scheduled for Thursday 10th – 7:45 p.m. and Game 5 – (If Necessary) on Saturday 12th – 8:00 p.m.

By: Edgar George

Darren Bravo Phote credit: Trinidad Guardian

The West Indies left-hander was just getting into the thick of things, when the unstable weather that has dogged the visitors since their arrival brought an early close on the final day of the three-day match at the PROBIZ County Ground.

Bravo was 19 not out, as West Indies reached 90 for three in their first innings after 16 overs were possible before bad light and rain combined to chase the players off the field for the final time.

“It is a bit frustrating,” said Bravo. “The guys wanted to get out there and get acclimatized to the conditions as much as possible.

“We have a Test starting in 10 days’ time and it is very important that we get as much match practice as possible…but we can do nothing about this.”

Bravo played for English county side Nottinghamshire last year, but he said the weather was less kind now and every opportunity was needed to get accustomed to the playing conditions. “It is a bit colder than when I came to play for Notts, but it is important to adjust to the conditions, and try and perform to the best of my ability,” he said.

“I think it’s important to understand your game and know what are your strengths and weaknesses. He said: “(The shots I played) I was able to execute properly, but nothing beats spending time in the middle.

“It is important to be able to understand the conditions as much as possible, but I’m happy with the way things went for me in the short space of time.”

Bravo is likely to be one of several players to grace Lord’s for the first time in a Test, when West Indies face England in the first Test at the famous ground, starting on May 17.

Only Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards and Denesh Ramdin have played a Test at the ground previously, although several others have made appearances in diverse ways in the past.

“It would be a great feeling to play a Test at Lord’s,” he said. “It’s the ‘spiritual’ home of the game, as we all know, so playing there at
this very young age will be something special and I am looking forward to it.

My father will also be there and this will make it an extra-special occasion.

“We are all looking forward to the first Test at Lord’s and I am sure everyone will be looking to give a good account of themselves.”

The Trinidad Guardian

On Thursday 3rd, the Elvis Welding Services Road Stars defeated the Upper Village Hoosiers by the final score of 84-69 pts, in game 2, of the best-of-5 series final, of the Roseau Valley Basketball League.

In game 1, the Hoosiers were successful in getting the better of the Road Stars, beating them by 13 pts. A victory for either team, would most likely give them the advantage, as confidence would be high, going into game 3.

The Hoosiers were without key players, Orlando George & Charles Williams, while the Road Stars haven’t had Thomas Felix for the past 7 games, but will be back for the very important game 3. As usual, there was a lot of hype & suspense before this game. The crowd support on hand was again excellent. The referees were Mr. Jeffery Douglas & Mc’Dowe.

Compared to the 1st quarter of game 1, the opening period in this game, was more action packed. There were fast breaks, dunks, 3 pointers & blocked shots. Along with that came a lot of lead changes and ties.

Offence was certainly on top in the early going. A total of 40 points was scored in this period; 21 & 19 for the Hoosiers & Road Stars respectively. In game 1, only 23 points was scored. In the 2nd quarter, the game continued to be tight. The teams were to be very cautious, but with both playing at their own pace and style as well.

The continuance of lead changes and ties make the game extremely exciting, as the fans were getting their monies worth. And, again, like in game 1, with about 2 minutes to go in the period, the Road Stars elevated themselves and took a 5 point lead, going into the half time interval, 39-34 pts making it a very exciting 1st half, in relation to game 1.

The fans were back at it again, with the buckets, galvanize & drums being beat as well as the constant blowing of whistles, horns & conch shells. The 3rd period opened, with the game being spiced up again. Both teams wanted the win badly, and they fought extremely hard to get it. It was like a game 7 of the N.B.A finals, between the Lakers & Celtics.

The Road Stars continued to dominate, with the likes of Julian Isles, Javeed Joseph, Fitzgerald Daniel, Simon “To-To” Joseph & Patrick Lafonce all putting in a team effort and working hard, while for the Hoosiers, all the offensive play came from Joseph ‘Boone” Jno. Baptiste. He was the only one who seemed to have been on point, on a night when a great team effort was needed.

The help didn’t come, and the game continued to slip away from the Hoosiers. The lead had now extended, & the Road Stars were now leading by 9 points at the close of the 3rd quarter; 62-53.

The Hoosiers tried to put up a fight in the 4th quarter, with Jno. Baptiste still carrying the offence like he always does, and how starting to get some defensive help from the other team members, but it had all seemed to be in vain, as the lead began to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and yes, bigger again.

With about 6 minutes to go, the lead had stretched to a maximum of 23 pts. The towel still had not been thrown in by the Hoosiers as their fans had tried to rally them back, but each time they made a play on the offence, the defence failed to keep up; in the end, losing the game by 15 pts, 84-69, after a poor showing as a team. Series now tied at 1 game apiece, going to game 3 on Tuesday.

Top performers for Road Stars were; Julian Isles – 25 pts, 11 reb, 2 blks, Javeed Joseph – 18 pts, 5 reb, 3 asts, Simon Joseph –15 pts, 8 reb, 3 blks, Fitzgerald Daniel – 11 pts, 11 asts and Patrick Lafonce – 11 pts, 5 reb.

Top performers for Hoosiers were; Joseph “Boone” Jno. Baptiste – 29 pts, 6 reb, 8 asts, Royce Caesar – 16 pts, 4 reb, 4 asds, Ramal Crabon – 10 pts, 7 reb, 2 blks and Edgar George & Curtist Joseph – 6 pts, 2 reb.

By: Edgar George

Chris Gayle

Gayle, who has not played for the Caribbean side in a year because of a spat with the West Indies Cricket Board, announced Wednesday he was pulling out of his Somerset Twenty20 deal to make himself available for selection for the three One-Day Internationals and T20, starting here next month.

“It’s great to hear that Chris is available again. I’m sure the selectors will pick him, because he’s world-class,” Gibson said.

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