Basketball Clippings: 2000s

Part I of these clippings presented for the four-year period, 2000-2003. The article concludes below.

2004 * The once mighty Cardinals, Dominica's most decorated team in history of local basketball take their final jump shots after 37 seasons, with over two dozen major championships (league, knockout, playoffs) as well as a couple of sub-regional club championship honours to their name.

"Caroni" - the name of their first sponsor - as the team was affectionately known in their formative years, debuted in 1968, and for two seasons (1978, 1979) they played as Cougars. Their juniors, Cardinals II was very short-lived, competing only in 1999, in the 2nd Level Division.

• Ian Brumant of (Canefield) Eagles sinks a massive 51 points in a DABA 2nd Level Division match, the highest individual score for the 2004 season.

• Dominica's Senior National Basketball Team undertakes a successful tour to St. Vincent's Grenadines, blowing out Union Island 76-37, then Bequai Island 77-44 in the two-match series.

• A record 13 teams compete in Pointe Michel's Basketball League.

2005 * The Dominica Amateur Basketball Association (DABA) cancels the 2005 basketball league. The reason presented for this action: "failure of teams to attend the Annual General Meeting and elect a new executive".

2006 * For the first time ever Dominica State College fields a team in the Premier Division of the national basketball league. The previous time that a "college" team participated in that league was in 1988, and that was in the 2nd Level Division.

During the 1980s "College" (Sixth Form College and Technical College, then Clifton Dupigny Community College), Dominica Grammar School, St. Mary's Academy and Dominica Community High School individually fielded teams in DABA's Intermediate Division.

• A US basketball coach whose services were secured through the Dominica Olympic Committee, conducts a week-long training camp for a dozen basketball coaches from various schools and clubs from around the island.

• For the first time ever, Dominica fields a representative Women's National Basketball Team in a tournament. The ladies placed 3rd from the six participating teams in the 7th Annual Gillian Brazer Basketball Competition in Antigua.

• Newcomers to DABA's Premier Division, X-Men capture the Premier Division National Basketball Championship.

• The Sports Division in collaboration with the DABA organise a basketball clinic for about 40 young boys and girls. The event bounced off over the 2006 Christmas Holidays and was expected to continue during the 2007 summer holidays.

2007 * DABA's Premier Division Playoff Championship changes hands again, this time going north for the first time when Paix-Bouche Eagles proudly stepped onto the winner's podium to receive their silverware.

• Former NBA player, Garth Joseph donates EC $14,000 to the Dominica Amateur Basketball Association to be used for basketball development on the island. Garth also sponsored the DABA 2nd Level Division (Division I) of the national league which was billed as the 'Garth Joseph 1st Division', for the 2007 season.

• Portsmouth Secondary School (PSS) Boys Under-20 team emerges back-to-back champions in the 2007 Sports Division basketball programme.

• Meanwhile, the North-East Comprehensive School Girls Under-20 and PSS Boys Under-15 teams won in their respective division championships.

2008 * Blazers recaptures the DABA Premier Division Play-Off Championship.

• Portsmouth Secondary School capture their third consecutive championship in the Sports Division Under-20 Boys competition.

2009 * Blazers of Massacre retains the DABA Premier Division Play-Off Championship, adding to their growing collection of silverware and being described by The SUN newspaper as "Dominica's most dominant basketball team in the last 15 years..." That was Blazers' 10th Premier Division League Championship in their 16-year history.

• Tigers emerge as the DABA Division I Play-off champions.

• Portsmouth Secondary School capture their fourth consecutive (double back-to-back) title in the Sports Division Under-20 Boys Basketball competition.

• Dominica State College Ladies win their second consecutive basketball championship in the Sports Division Secondary Schools Girls Basketball Competition.

• St. Mary's Academy are champions of the Sports Division Schools Under-15 Basketball Festival.

REMARKS: The press did not carry any stories on basketball for the 2005 or 2008 calendar years. That was rather unfortunate, although these were not the first times that the sport was treated that way by the local press.

Most of the information presented above was sourced from archived newspapers and the newspaper reporters who wrote the stories for the other years must be commended.

Jump Ball thanks Algernon Jervier, a member of the 2000 Dominica National Basketball Team for that year's CARICOM Championships for the photograph and for identifying the persons in the photo.

In Photo: STANDING (L-R): Mickey Joseph, Sean Esprit, Ashworth Daniel (Asst. Coach), Johnny Alfred, Earl Matthew, Edgar Robinson (Coach). STOOPING: Denver Dublin, Sherwin Williams, Ricky Toussaint, Javeed Joseph