THERE were a number of close scoring games during day one of the three-day JamRockerz Basketball Classic at Montego Bay Community College on Friday. The tournament is being staged for the first time and features three overseas-based teams against three local teams.

The overseas teams include Team Takeover from Maryland, DC; Hardwood Kings from Brampton, Ontario, Canada; and P.H.A.S.E.1 Academy International which comprises P.H.A.S.E.1 members from the United States and Canada. Jamaica will be represented in this six-team pool play event by P.H.A.S.E.1 Academy Kingston, P.H.A.S.E.1 Academy Montego Bay, and P.H.A.S.E.1 Academy Trelawny.

Hardwood Kings lost 67-65 to P.H.A.S.E 1 Academy International. The top performers were Dwain Cummings of International with 21 points, eight rebounds, one assist, and two steals while Elijah Harriott of Hardwood sent down 15 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.

Game two went to team Takeover in a narrow 56-53 win over Montego Bay, with Doran Clausell’s 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a block contributing the most points for Takeover. Montego Bay’s Daire Patterson bagged 15 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.

Team International came back on court for an even bigger win when they defeated Trelawny by 19 points in a 65-46 match-up. Anthony Ingleton sealed the win with 20 points, eight rebounds, one assist, and a two steals while Trelawny’s Daniel Clarke’s 12 points, five rebounds, two steals, and a block was their top scorer.

The final game of the day saw Takeover beat Kingston 52-23. Takeover’s 6’8” Elijah Flowers bagged 16 points and five rebounds while Kingston’s 5’10” player LeBron Lewison top scored with eight points and one steal.

“The competition is very strong,” Team International Coach Mark Francis said. “We are first in our side of the bracket. The other side of the bracket, we definitely have to give respect to. They look very strong and we are looking forward to the semi-finals tomorrow [Sunday] and see if we can win this championship.

“I would say the quality and the skill level is very high here. A lot of the players from one to 10 or one to 12 can dunk. They are fast. This is what we see in Canada. Now just being here at the core of where the talent comes from is great to see.

“I think this [competition] is necessary because we have teams from the US, Canada coming here and competing against the local teams here in Jamaica. Just to see the players compete, it will only help even the Jamaican players to see what it is like without having to go there — and hopefully that will now raise the level every single year and we can attract more teams to come to this tournament where this would be the prime type of tournament to come to in the summer.”

P.H.A.S.E.1 Academy Coach and Global Director Wayne Dawkins says, “Competitions like the JamRockerz Basketball Classic are vital to the growth and development of basketball in Jamaica. With the incredible support of our partners we’re confident that this event will put Jamaica on the map as a global destination for competitive youth basketball.