In what was supposed to be the hightlight game of the competition for the Arawak Braves team has turned out to be a nightmare. All that is left from the game is questions. Questions that have been asked before but now are leading to more deeper and serious questions. The answers? Well i can’t seem to get any so far. Maybe it’s time for a very deep audit of the bball team. These are some of the questions that begs to be answered. Is the coach setting to high a standard for the team? Is he expecting and demanding to much of his players? Is his goal for the team unrealistic? Is his program a progressive one? Is it time for a new direction and leadership? If there is anyone who think or believe that he/she can offer an answer to any of these questions i will appreciate you contacting me to discuss one on one.
The starting five was Adrian, Andi, Andrew, Ron and Karim. This five possess perimeter shooters, rebounders, and ball handelers. So why didn’t we get a good start? There was no extra pressure by Mayhill. Why cant Arawak Braves players execute simple basketball fundamentals? Either they are not taught or they are not re-enforced by the coach at practice. This five never really settled. they looked unsure on offence. they didn’t move the ball arround, the shoots taken by the main shooters were poorly taken shots and defensively they were not cohesive. A Little improvement was made after the time out but the turnovers and poorly taken shots and the lack of purpose and drive on offence was seen. The quarter ended Arawak braves 11. Mayhill 22. Braves had 10 turnovers in this quarter.
The shooting slump cotinued in this quarter with Arawak Braves creating may fast break situations which they fail to convert. There was a glaring lack of leadership on the court and even the coach seem powerless to get the players to take advantage of their oppertunities. Mayhill was in total control converting most of the turnovers Braves committed. They controlled both boards with Braves managing to get only 9 rebounds. The defence that was the highlight of the previous games was not seen in this game at all. The halftime score was Arawak Braves 23, Mayhill 45.
The second half saw some improvement with Shane Worrell and Roland Fields entering the game for the first time. Some defence was played and the team started to score the ball more often. They worked the ball around more and the ball ended in the correct players hand more often. The defence also created fastbreaks which they scored more of. They out scored Mayhill 21 to 11 in this quarter. score at end of quarter Arawak Braves 42, Mayhill 56.
the final quarter started promisingly but after about five minutes they seem to run out of steam. They never took control of the offensive or defensive boards. They never box out as a team and they allowed Mayhill to push their offence to far from the basket. The players who are the shooters in the team play too timid. Mayhill took full control in the final five minutes and used their young players to finish off the kill. I must admitt that i expected Arawak Braves to win that game by twenty points or more but am i expecting too much? should i just give up? should i concentrate on the younger players and try to upgrade their game? The final score was Arawak Braves 60, Mayhill 83. I guess i should know that we are in the hurricane season and should expect some blowouts.
A LOOK AT THE GAME STATS;
FIELD GOALS WE SCORED 25 OF 58. 3 POINT ATTEMPS: 2 OF 11 FREE THROWS: 4 OF 9 ONLY THREE PLAYERS WENT TO THE LINE. TEAM AVERAGED 8 REBOUNDS PER QUARTER. TEAM TURNOVERS 28: ASSIST 13 TEAM STEALS 16 TEAM BLOCKS 3 TEAM FOULS 16.
