CBC Championship Game 2 recap
Day 2 of the FIBA CBC Championship saw defending champions the US Virgin Islands romp to a second consecutive victory in Group B while the British Virgin Islands also made it two from two. In Group A Cuba crushed Saint Vincent to maintain a 100% record while Antigua registered its first win of the tournament.
The FIBA CBC Championship or Caribebasket tournament is in its 22nd edition and is being hosted in the city of Tortola on the British Virgin Islands.
Group A
Cuba vs. Saint Vincent, 86-58
Cuba collected a second successive Group A win with a comfortable victory over a struggling Saint Vincent. Cuba led throughout the contest and extended through each quarter, winning the first 18-14 before leading 40-31 at halftime. After 30 minutes a 14 point lead had been established as Cuba powered on the back of Joan Luis Haiti (16 points) and Jasul Rivero (13 points). An explosive final stanza saw the Cubans pour in 24 points and hold Saint Vincent to 10 points, which put a nice gloss on the score line.
Antigua vs. Bahamas, 90-68
The Bahamas may be the most decorated team in CBC Championship history with 6 titles, but history counted for nothing as Antigua cruised to victory to collect a first win of this year’s tournament. Forward Ernest Scott was in fine touch as he paced the Antiguans with 25 points while also taking 9 off the glass. A close and exciting first quarter saw both teams send 20 points through the nets, but by halftime Antigua had carved a slender three point advantage (40-37). The Bahamas had no response to a fantastic third and fourth quarter from their opponents as Antigua raced to victory.
Group B
US Virgin Island vs. Guyana, 95-75
Defending champs US Virgin Islands maintained their perfect defence of their crown so far by defeating Guyana for a second consecutive win. The game was won in the first half as the Islanders went into halftime with a 22 points lead. Guyana responded well by streaming in 50 points during the second half of the game, but the US Virgin Islands kept their own consistent scoring ticking thanks to Devon Peltier with a game pacing haul of 15 points. Peltier was outdone by Guyana small forward Rawle Marshall who scored 23 points for a game high performance.
British Virgin Islands vs. Barbados, 81-77
The narrowest game of Game 2 saw the British Virgin Islands take a scrappy win over Barbados to remain undefeated in the competition. The tournament hosts have the favour of the crowd of course, and the players duly responded by putting together an exciting first half that saw them lead 47-27 at the midway buzzer. Barbados found more consistency in the second half and closed to within 9 points after 30 minutes. The visitors never gave up and played fantastically in the final frame and nailed 24 points, but ultimately is was not enough as the home team celebrated.