Barbados capture IBF U18 titles

Team Guyana missed out on top honours after they were knocked out at the semi and quarter-final stages of the championships (Royston Alkins photo) 
Team Guyana missed out on top honours after they were knocked out at the semi and quarter-final stages of the championships (Royston Alkins photo) 

Barbados’ U18 basketballers crowned off the International Basketball Foundation (IBF) U18 Antilles 3×3 championships by capturing both the male and female titles last evening at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH).

Ironically, the lads from the Island of the Flying Fish completed the double by dethroning Martinique who in 2017 had won both titles. 

The male championship match saw both sides matching each other’s shots in the opening minutes of the game, but it was Barbados, in the end, who were more efficient in the paint as they pulled away in the closing minutes of the game to capture the 2018 title by a 12-8 score line at the end of the 10-minute full-time period. 

The female final was a much tougher one as Barbados clinched an 8-7 win over the defending champions Martinique to send them into despair, the players bowing their heads in disappointment while leaving the court.

 Meanwhile, team Guyana in the male category, was bounced out at the semi-final stage, going down to eventual winners Barbados 11-13. The Guyanese had earlier defeated St Lucia 7-6 in the quarterfinals. 

 The local ladies, on the other hand, failed to make it past the quarter-final stage after they suffered a 0-2 overtime defeat at the hands of Guadeloupe. The score was tied at 2-2 after the 10-minute regular time.