Wolmer’s achieve finals ‘goal’ in ISSA U16 basketball

WOLMER'S Boys' surprised St. George's College, defeating them 65-63 in overtime to advance to the finals of the ISSA urban under 16 basketball competition, after taking the best-of-three semi-final series 2-1.

With the series tied at 1-1 after both teams had won on their respective home courts, the Clifford Brown-coached St George's College, playing at home, were slight favourites to get the better of the Howard Harvey-coached boys from Heroes' Circle.

In a very even contest, with both teams battling relentlessly from the opening tip, it came as no surprise when the scores were locked at 55-55 at the end of regulation, forcing five minutes of overtime. In the end, it was Wolmer's who emerged victorious, eking out a narrow two-point win to advance to the finals, where they will face Jamaica College, who got past Campion College 2-0 in their semi-final series.

Demaria Cross led the winners with a game-high 16 points, while Joseph McKenzie and Caleb Mattocks both scored 16 points for the losing St George's team.

Harvey, who praised his team for the win, credited their success to spiritual grounding.

"Our team is built on Christian fundamentals, as our objective and goal is to give praise to God. We set a goal to reach the championship finals, which we have been building toward for the past three years, and we are grateful to God and give Him all the glory," said Harvey.

"St George's College is a good team with a great coach, and they have similar systems to us. It was about which team needed it most, and I think our team needed the win more," Harvey added.

- R.G.