Sint. Eustatuis –The St. Maarten National Basketball Association (SXMNBA) went oversea to Sint. Eustatius to take part in The Rock da Rim Survival of the Fittest U21 Basketball Tournament for a friendly Inter-Island competition between St. Eustatius Ants, St. Maarten Pelicans, St. Kitts Jayhawks together with Nevis Eagles.
Playing their first (1st) game St. Maarten Pelicans against Nevis Eagles.
Taking the lead by 17 point, St. Maarten Pelicans score 55 and Nevis Eagles score 38.
Second (2nd) of the night, St. Maarten Pelicans played against St. Kitts Jayhawks. Surviving a late charge by the Jayhawks, the Pelicans to win by 6 point. The score was St. Maarten Pelicans 31 and St. Kitts Jayhawks 25.
The St. Maarten Pelicans final game was played against the home team, ST. Eustatius Ants. With the crowd going completely silence, St. Maarten Pelicans won the game by 9 point, leaving St. Eustatius Ants behind. St. Maarten Pelicans scored 35 as St. Eustatius Ants scored 26.
In the Semi-Finals St. Maarten Pelicans faced the Nevis Eagles. Miguel Morgan and David Labardy controlling the board while dominating the paint securing the Pelicans a journey to the finals with the score of 39 to 29 (St Maarten Pelicans 39 and Nevis Eagles 29).
The home town St. Eustatius Ants narrowly got by St. Kitts Jayhawks to setting up a rematch with the St. Maarten Pelican’s final game for the first (1st) round.
St. Eustatius Ants gave the St. Maarten Pelicans all they could handle during the first half of the game, keeping the score so tightly. During the third quarter, the St. Maarten Pelicans pressed the ball leaving the St. Eustatius Ants in shellshock, not giving them enough time to recovered. Allowing the Sint Maarten Pelicans to win the championship game with a score of 56 to St. Eustatius Ants 38, behind the brilliant play of Jamal Ireland. He dominated on both ends of the floor awarding him the Most Valuable Player of the Rock da Rim Survival of the Fittest U21 Basketball Tournament.
Winning the 3-point shootout for the Sint Maarten squad was Kaleb Hercule.
These inter-Island sporting events provided the youths the opportunity to make new friends, play against other youths and experience the excitement of competition. The youths stated that they had a wonderful time and can’t wait for the next competition. They were able to make new friends from the different Islands that took part.
The trip was made possible in collaboration with help from the St Maarten Sports Department, MNA Auto Parts & Accessories s, KK Travels and Tours, Juliana Airport Handlers N.V., Island Real Estate, and a special thanks to SXM Airways for taking the team.
The ST. Maarten National Basketball Association (SXMNBA) is looking forward to organizing and taking part in more Inter-Island Basketball competitions with the neighboring islands. The SXMNBA is of the belief that these types of events are important for the development of the youths of St. Maarten and surrounding islands, we would like to ask the support of the community to make events like this a success.
The next event is 1st Annual SXMNBAS The Business Tournament on August 15th to August 19th, 2018. Don’t miss out!