Captain and national power forward Akeem Marsh led the way by scoring 23 points as Clapham beat Station Hill 67-65 in the season opener of the Barbados Basketball Amateur Premier League last Friday.
It was a promising start to the for Clapham, the defending champions, who trailed 9-12 and 23-26 in the first two quarters but ended the third in the lead 48-40 and never looked back as they registered a two-point win.
Not only did Marsh, last year’s most valuable player, lead the way in scoring but also he contributed with 12 rebounds.
Point guard Rahiim Gibbons was the only other Clapham player to reach double figures, registering 15 points.
For their losing effort Joel Hunte led the Station Hill with 18 points, and Deveron Knight and rookie Chikosi Boardi each scored 13 points.
It was a rough encounter for these teams that dominate local basketball, two Clapham players, Captain Marsh and Andrew Ifill fouled out, and their coach Ryan Leacock received a technical warning.
The Clapham – Station Hill match up brought back memories of the 2019 best of five games final won by Clapham.
The defending champions built on that good start to the 2020 season two days later by smashing the Bayland Warriors resulting in a strange final score for Basketball, 102-28. Many of the Warriors’ top players were missing for this game.
Also, on Sunday and, in emphasizing dominance of the two teams in last season’s final, Station Hill beat Church Village 97-72.
