The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture (MOYSC) Panthers and the Police Crimestoppers have now advanced to round two of the Bahamas Government Departmental Basketball Association (BGDBA) playoffs. Last night at the AF Adderley Gymnasium, the Panthers, BGDBA defending champions, earned an eight-point win over the Real Deal Rangers. Meanwhile, the Crimestoppers claimed game two 100-52 in a dominant showing to send the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) Rampage home.

Panthers vs The Real Deal Rangers

After dishing out a 40-point drubbing to the Real Deal Rangers in game one, the Panthers were in a more competitive bout in game two. The elimination game started off with both teams poised for the win. The score was tied 16 apiece at the 2:50 mark of the first period. However, a quick layup by Kemsey Sylvestre followed by a three-pointer from behind the arc pushed the Panthers lead to six points. After a late offensive surge, the defending champions closed out the opening quarter 27-19 on their opponents.

Cordero Coakley, of the MOYSC Panthers, got their offence going in the second period after knocking down a smooth floater to advance the lead to double digits. Despite the Real Deal Rangers maintaining a close score in the first quarter, the Panthers had a comfortable 18-point cushion (51-33) going into the second half.

Sylvestre along with Roosevelt Whylly came up big for the Panthers all game long. Whylly plugged in a game-high 22 points complemented by 16 boards to finish with a monster double double. Sylvestre was just as dominant on the glass. He also put up a double double with 19 points, and 12 rebounds to stuff the stat sheet.

Although the Real Deal Rangers narrowed down the double digit lead to 13 in the third and had a late offensive spark in the fourth quarter it ultimately was not enough to stop the Panthers from completing the sweep.

Perry Darling, head coach of the Panthers, talked about the team’s performance to move on to the next round.

“The first half was a good performance, the second half we fell off. We know its pressure being a champion trying to win back to back, everybody is gunning for you,” Darling said.

He added that going into the next round the team will need to improve on rebounding, cleaning up sloppy plays, and capitalising on in-game situations.

Crimestoppers vs Rampage

In the following game, the Crimestoppers joined the Bain and Grants Town Cybots and MOYSC Panthers by solidifying their spot in round two of the playoffs. The second-seeded regular season team finished off business against the Rampage with a 48-point blowout win last night.

The Rampage brought a much more competitive spirit to the elimination game in the beginning. The Crimestoppers finished the first quarter 22-14. In the second period the Crimestoppers, led by Jeron Smith, wrapped up the quarter, leading 42-31 going into the break.

Smith dropped a balanced 21 points to pair with six assists, and five boards in the blowout win. Michael Furley Bain Jr closed out round one with 16 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.

The leading team flipped the script in the second half, outscoring the Rampage by 21 points to end the third quarter leading 64-43. The game was a foregone conclusion after the third period of play as Crimestoppers could not be stopped on offence en route to the next round.

Anthony “Cops” Rolle, head coach of the Crimestoppers, talked about how he felt about the team’s dominant performance last night.

“I was really impressed with the guys tonight. Two of our key players sat out tonight due to some injuries and seeing that we were up 1-0 we wanted them to get some rest ahead of the next round against the Panthers,” Rolle said.

He credited the efforts of the team defensively and was happy with some of the younger players who stepped up in the absence of the veteran players.

The final remaining contest of the first round will feature the Airport Authority Avengers versus the Bamboo Shack Patrollers this weekend.