EMOTIONS ran high on Friday night as Calabar High produced stunning performances to claim the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) All-Island Under-16 and Under-19 Basketball competitions with victories over St Jago and Herbert Morrison Technical High, respectively.

The green-and-black-clad boys first outscored St Jago High 36-33 to lift the Under-16 title, afterwich the Under-19s showed sheer determination to rally past Herbert Morrison 70-67 in the final quarter in front of a moderate crowd at GC Foster College auditorium.

An emotional Ludlow Barker, coach of Calabar, recalled the long journey.

“Now I can talk about a double-double; everybody was asking me about this double [and] we wanted it. Our goal right throughout the season was to win everything this season. These young men sacrificed a lot — the journey of trying to get this done, no summer holidays, no Christmas and no New Year and now it paid off for us,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Calabar’s Under-16s let slip a 13-9 first quarter lead and were up by two points at the half-time break with the score 20-18. St Jago came out stronger in the third quarter and outscored Calabar 5-3 to set up an enthralling finish as they went into the final quarter with the score locked a 23-23.

Both teams came out firing on all cylinders at the start of the quarter and were matching basket-for-basket. But it was Calabar, led by the competition’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) Jordan Kellier with eight points, eight rebounds and five steals, who stole the show. Javaughn Taylor, who had eight points, nine rebounds and four assist, was their next best performer.

Lushane Wilson 13 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks, was the standout performer for St Jago.

Manchester High won the third-place play-off with a 43-26 scoreline over Knox College.

The Red Hills Road-based Calabar, after trailing in the first three quarters, outshot three-time finalists Herbert Morrison 25-17 in the final quarter to snatch the Under-19 title.

Calabar were completely outplayed 20-15 in the opening quarter by their Montego Bay-based opponents.

Gregory Wallace, Ralique Grant and Kuwayne Grant were electrifying from beyond the arc as Herbert Morrison opened up a seven-point gap to end the third quarter 52-45.

Wallace and Brendon Dawkins sunk back-to-back shots from behind the arc to extend Herbert Morrison’s lead at the start of the final quarter.

However, Calabar, through Javardo Simmonds and Maliek McCarthy, came back roaring with one minute left on the clock to steal victory. Simmonds ended with 17 points and six rebounds, while McCarthy ended with 16 points, six rebounds, four steals and five assists which made the difference.

Wallace — who led Herbert Morrison with 16 points, 24 rebounds, five blocks and four assists — was named MVP..

“Two, very tough opponents; St Jago fought all the way and they kept at us, but our defense held firm,” said Barker in reference to the Under-16 outfit.

He continued: “The Under-19 team could shoot the lights out of the gym; they were making shots from all over the place, so we had to step up our defense. We had to close out a lot better, we didn’t do that early [but] when we start challenging their ball handlers and shooters… it took a toll on them. We have a never say die attitude, we are a fourth-quarter team. We are very good at closing out fourth quarter and we did it again tonight (Friday), and I am very elated for these young men.”

Alwayne Beadle, captain of Herbert Morrison, was left disappointed as his team was finishing second best in their third all-island final.

“I am very disappointed; I thought we were coming away with the game, but we couldn’t get the shots that we wanted in the end. So it is a bit frustrating, because Calabar didn’t put much pressure on us and I think we defeated ourselves tonight,” he lamented.