DABA's COMEBACK LEAGUE, 2023

Part I of the article presented team distribution in the Regular League and some statistics from the two divisions. The article concludes below.

PEEKING AT 2023 REGULAR LEAGUES - Some Stats From Division I (Ctd): The lowest Division I team score was 33 Pts, made by Blazers II, against Tigers. That particular game also recorded the lowest combined team scores of 73 Pts (Tigers – 40, Blazers – 33). Further, the lowest number of points scored in a Quarter was only 3, made by Falcons II in their encounter with Southside Jah Lions.

Overtime games present their brand of excitement, and on three occasions during the 2023 Division I Regular League, games were decided in extra time, with one team involved in two of those encounters. Falcons II defeated BAA Sharks 94-91 (84-84); 767 SC Young Ballers won over Police Sports Club II 91-83 (77-77), while BAA Sharks beat West Coast Ballerz 77-74 (65-65).

CLOSE CALLS & BLOW-OUTS IN LEAGUES: Only two Premier League games ended with the margin of victory being the equivalent of one basket. That occurred when Police SC defeated Paix Bouche Eagles 76-74, and Marigot Sunrise got the better of Police SC 64-61. Nine other matches ended with the winning teams registering victories of between 4 and 9 points. At the other end of the table, nine (9) Premier Division matches ended in blow-outs (losses of 20 or more points for the losers). PSC Falcons registered the two largest margins of victory: 52 Pts vs Prowlers (116-64) and 44 Pts vs Paix Bouche Eagles (101-57).

Down in Division I, there was more excitement – and anxiety, one might add – than what obtained in the Premier Division as eight (8) of the matches were decided by the equivalent of a single basket (1-3 Pts), with three matches ending in a scrape-through, 1-Pt victory for the winner. Another nine games ended with the margin of victory between 5 and 9 points.

And while there were five blow-outs in Division I, these were all below 40 Pts. The largest winning margin (39 Pts) was registered by Sea Hawks when they mauled Warriors by a score of 84-45. Interestingly, the second widest margin of victory (37 Pts) was recorded when the Warriors avenged their earlier blow-out by arresting and locking up the Police SC II with an 82-45 scoreline.

RAINING THREES: A total of 399 Three-Pointers were scored in the two divisions of the Regular League combined, with 236 in 25 Premier Games (9.44/gm), 68 in 14 Division I Zone A games (4.86/gm) and 95 in 15 Zone B games (6.33/gm). Falcons Premier were overall leaders with 53 big ones in 7 games (7.57/gm), followed by Police Premier with 41 in 7 games; Falcons senior also hit 15 in one match. Over in Division I, Paix Bouche Snipers led with 27 in 5 games (5.4/gm), including 8 in one of their encounters.

FREE-THROW PARTY: A total of 1,033 Free-Throws were made in the two divisions combined: 502 in the Premier Division (Falcons - 108); 227 in Division I -A (Ole Skool - 59); and 304 in Division I-B (BAA - Sharks 63).

HOT 30s: Besides the highest player game scores presented earlier, there were ten other instances – including nine in Division I - when players sank 30 or more points in a match. These are Levi Baron (Ole Skool, 39); Kimel Dodds (BAA Sharks, 35); Nester James (Warriors, 33); Trevor Etienne (Police II, 32); Thomas Felix (Blazers Premier, 32); Renee Williams (Sea Hawks, 32); Zack Bastien (Falcons II, 30); Yawani Régis (Falcons II, 30) and Sherwin Williams (Southside Jah Lions, 30 twice).

PROPORTIONS OF GAMES PLAYED vs SCHEDULED: A relatively high proportion of scheduled games in the two divisions were played. In Premier, 25 of 28; Division I Zone A - 14 of 15; and Zone B - 15 of 15.

RESULTS OF REGULAR LEAGUES & PLAYOFFS: Summing up the results of the Regular Leagues and the Playoffs, Dr. Darroux PSC Falcons from Pichelin were crowned Premier Division National Playoff Champions, making that their third championship for the year, inclusive of the Knockout.

Meanwhile, newcomers BAA Sharks from the triple communities of Bense, Anse de Maie and Anse Soldat emerged as National Playoff Champs in the 2nd Level Division. In the Regular League, from which teams qualify for the playoffs, PSC Falcons played undefeated in their seven games to emerge as Premier Division Regular League Champs. The teams in Division I played in two Zones, with Tigers winning Zone A and PSC Falcons II Zone B. CONGRATS ALL!

REMARKS: What can be dubbed "DABA's Comeback League, 2023" was a success, and Jump Ball says WELL DONE to the Dominica Amateur Basketball Association's executive, the 200+ players, the 20 teams, coaches, the league sponsor, team sponsors, referees and table officials, the management of the Massacre Indoor Sports Facility and the fans for making the 2023 National Basketball League the success that it was. Thanks also to DABA's Jerry Williams for the collaboration.

And, while women played an important part in the running of the League as table officials, Jump Ball looks forward to the return of the Women's Division in 2024.

Statistical information sourced from official game score sheets. Photos by Carlton Morvan/DABA Facebook page.