Ardenne add U-16 title to senior crown
ARDENNE High secured the ISSA/KFC Southern Conference Schools basketball double after scoring a hard-fought 55-51 win over St George’s College for a 2-1 series in the junior Under-16 final at the National Stadium courts yesterday.
The Basil Barrett-coached team had defeated the same school on Monday for the Under-19 crown, and after losing game one of the Under-16 series, rallied to win the title.
Jhaun Graham was Ardenne’s topscorer with 12 points and five rebounds and received good support from MVP and tournament topscorer, Javed Habib, and Shavier Francis who both had 11 points with four rebounds and four steals respectively.
St George’s’ Josef Thomas bagged a game-high 21 points, followed by Warren Honeywell with 17 points and 18 rebounds.
The North Street-based St George’s started well, taking a 13-10 lead after the first period.
They continued to have the better of their opponents in the second qaurter with 12-11 points which saw them lead 25-21 at half-time.
But Ardenne, as they have proven over the years, cannot be written off, as Habib and Graham stepped up as they claimed the third quarter 18-8, to lead 39-33 going into the final stanza.
And although St George’s started nervously by making some simple errors, they came back strongly torward the end of the quarter, cutting Ardenne’s lead to four with two minutes reminaing.
But Ardenne kept their composure and organisation to come through at the end with a well-deserved victory.
Ardenne coach Barrett, who was named coach of the year for both leagues, said his team really played their hearts to win the title.
“We are the only school in this decade to win the double… so we are down in history for another milestone,” said the veteran coach.
His opposite number, Clifford Brown, said his players lost their composure at a crucial point in the game.
“It’s heart-rending to lose two finals… but some of our players got too anxious and lost their composure… and Ardenne capitalised on that,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the National competition will get underway next Thursday at the same venue.