UTT Invitational Basketball Tournament

Jan 23, 2017 | Views:208908 |

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The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) hosted their first Basketball Invitational Tournament on Saturday 21^st and Sunday 22^nd January, 2017 at the Maloney Indoor Sport Arena, Maloney Gardens.

UTT Invitational Basketball Tournament Participants:

UTT High Performance (HP) Basketball Team
Maloney Pacers
Defence Force
Police
Pythons
Ministry of Sport (MOS) Schoolaz

Day One - Saturday 21^st January, 2017 consisted of an Opening Ceremony followed by a group draw and round robin games within each group:

National Anthem
Opening Prayer
Opening Remarks by Mr. Joseph ‘Lenny’ Guy Former national player and coach and former Head Coach of UTT’s HP Basketball team.
Group Draw
Round Robin Games

Groups identified after selection -

Group One:

MOS Schoolaz
Police
Defence Force

Group Two:

UTT
Maloney Pacers
Pythons

Game 1: MOS Schoolaz vs Defence Force; 32-62 Final Score (Winner- Defence Force)

Game 2: Pythons vs Maloney Pacers; 53-72 Final Score (Winner- Maloney Pacers)

Game 3: Defence Force vs Police; 71-57 Final Score (Winner- Defence Force)

Game 4: UTT vs Maloney Pacers; 33-43 Final Score (Winner- Maloney Pacers)

Game 5: Police vs MOS Schoolaz; 50-55 Final Score (Winner- MOS Schoolaz)

Game 6: UTT vs Pythons; 65-54 Final Score (Winner -UTT)

The top two teams from each group gained automatic placement into the Finals, played on Sunday 22^nd January, 2017. Second best teams of each group played for third place position.

Day Two - Sunday 22^nd January, 2017 featured the third place playoff, a skills challenge, All-Star celebrity game and topped off with the Final.

Third Place Game: UTT vs MOS Schoolaz; 57-36 Final Score (Winner -UTT)
Top scorers in this game were Lazaro Campbell (UTT) with 23 points, Czarek Nagir (UTT) with 10 points, Triston Benjamin (MOS Schoolaz) with 12 points and Kiev Chesny (MOS Schoolaz) with 11 points.

Skills Challenge: This event aimed to test dribbling, shooting, passing and finishing skills while adding the element of speed, similar to the NBA Skills Challenge hosted every year at the NBA All-Star weekend. Eight (8) participants took part in this event representing teams such as UTT, MOS Schoolaz, Defence Force, Pythons and Maloney Pacers. The top three (3) fastest times to complete the course, qualified to the final round. Christian Arthur (Defence Force), Andrew Dookoo (UTT) and Lawrence James (Pythons) qualified to the final round with Lawrence James of Pythons emerging the 2017 UTT Invitational Basketball Tournament Skills Challenge Champion with a time of 21 seconds. Andrew Dookoo (UTT) finished in 23 seconds and Christian Arthur (Defence Force) finished in 24 seconds.

Two members (Kadeem Greig and Nickolai Mills) of the Maloney-based youth basketball academy, the Stories of Success (SOS) Basketball Academy were invited to participate in the skills challenge to showcase their talent. They were given tokens of appreciation for their participation.

On to the most anticipating event of the day, the All-Star Celebrity Game featuring local personages in the sporting and entertainment domain. UTT Red vs UTT Black -

UTT Red:

The Honourable Darryl Smith - Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs
Rhonda John- Davis - Current Head Coach of the Under-21 Women Netball Team. As a player she represented Trinidad and Tobago for many years capturing a total of 156 caps and playing in a total of five (5) World Cups.
Clayton Morris - High Performance Football Coach at UTT. Trinidad and Tobago National Futsal Head Coach and captained the famous 1989 Senior Men’s Football team better known as the ‘Strike Squad’.
Kielle Connelly - Defensive specialist for the Senior Women National Netball team. She has been a part of the team since 2009. In 2013 she played at the semi-professional level in England with the Grangetown Netball Club.
Joelisa Cooper - Member of the Senior Women National Netball team. She has represented Trinidad and Tobago in three (3) World Cups and captained the team at their last World Cup participation in Australia in 2015.
Ian Wason - Journalist and News Reporter at one of Trinidad and Tobago’s major news channels, Caribbean New Media Group (CNMG)
John 'JJ' Bailey Junior - Radio Broadcaster and Social Media manager at RED 96.7fm (One Caribbean Media)
Coached by Mario Davis - Head Coach of the Under-19 National Basketball team (male) that toured Jamaica in August 2016.

UTT Black:

Daren Ganga - Senior Manager of Sport & Recreation at UTT. Former West Indies Cricketer and Sports Ambassador for the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
The Honourable Dr. Lovell Francis - Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the constituency of Moruga/Tableland and Minister of State in the Ministry of Education.
The Honourable Brigadier General Ancil Antoine - Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the constituency of D'Abadie/O'Meara.
Garvin Warwick - Former President of the National Basketball Federation of Trinidad and Tobago and currently the Advisor to the Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, The Honourable Darryl Smith.
Melissa Guerero - Basketball Coach at the Quarters United Youth Club. She has represented Trinidad and Tobago on several occasions at the senior level. Also played at the collegiate level with Saint Leo University in Florida.
Kerron ‘Sunny Bling’ Sealy - Radio Announcer at Slam 100.5. Known for his comedic acts, Sunny is also well-known for hosting events ranging from ministry functions, award ceremonies, concerts and much more.
Coached by Kennyatta Alfred - Player for the Detour Shak Attack Basketball team and Coach at the SOS Basketball Academy.

UTT Red vs UTT Black; 43-30 Final Score (Winner UTT Red)

2017 UTT Invitational Basketball Tournament All-Star Celebrity MVP - Rhonda John-Davis leading her team with a total of 13 points.

Both teams also accommodated members of the SOS Basketball Academy to engage our young and aspiring basketball players.

Final Championship Game: Maloney Pacers vs Defence Force; 82-62 Final Score

(2017 UTT Invitational Basketball Tournament Champions the Maloney Pacers)

Top scorer and Finals MVP: Maurice Francis (Maloney Pacers) with 23 points, 21 of which came from beyond the three point line.

Top scorer for Defence Force was Kyeon Joseph finishing with 17 points.

Overall Details UTT Invitational Basketball Tournament