Massacre's Big Basketball Tablet (Part III)

Part II of the article continued the presentation on the Massacre-based teams which participated in DABA's National League; these comprised Massacre, Massacre Blazers, Blazers II, Blazers Senior (commencement of their presentation), Panthers, Bullets/Massacre Bullets, Blazing Bullets, Blazing Panthers and Blazers DI. The presentation on Massacre players who represented Dominica in basketball was started. The article continues below:

Massacre Players Representing Dominica (Ctd): In 1997 the Dominica National Under-19 Basketball Team which participated in the CARICOM Under-19 Tournament in Jamaica included Gary Defoe and Jameson Lecointe of Massacre in their line-up.

Earlier that year the Under-19 Team had twice defeated Guadeloupe's Under-19 Team in Dominica, lost to a Select Guadeloupe National Team, and participated in the Windward Islands Basketball Tournament (as the second Dominica team), all in an effort at providing the Team with some exposure in their preparation for the CARICOM Tournament.

Massacre's Shiny Basketball Silverware: Four teams have so far contributed towards stocking up Massacre's basketball trophy cabinet. A Division III (Junior) team led the way and they were followed by teams competing in the senior, 2nd and 3rd Level Men's Divisions and recently the National 3x3 Competition. With their impressive collection of silverware, Blazers (Senior) is currently the second most decorated team in Dominica' basketball history, after the legendary Cardinals. Blazers also boasts of doing two '3-peats' (1995-1997, then 2013-2015), but Cardinals had done a '6-peat'.

The trophy contributors and their corresponding silverware are as follows:

Massacre Blazers – 1991 Division III League Championship Blazers (Senior) – 1993 Division I Knock-out Championship Blazers (Senior) – 1994 Ball-o-rama Championship Blazers (Senior) – 1995 Division I League Championship Blazers (Senior) – 1996 Division I League Championship Blazers (Senior) – 1997 Premier Division League Championship Panthers – 1997 3rd Level Men's Division League Championship Blazers (Senior) – 2000 Premier Division Play-Off Championship Bullets – 2000 2nd Level Men's Division League Championship Blazers (Senior) – 2004 Premier Division Play-Off Championship Faith – 2006 2nd LMD (Div. I) League Championship Blazers (Senior) – 2009 Premier Division Play-Of Championship Blazers (Senior) – 2013 Premier Division Play-Off Championship Blazers (Senior) – 2014 Premier Division Play-Off Championship Blazers (Senior) – 2014 Presidents' Cup Winners Blazers (Senior) – 2015 Premier Division Play-Off Championship Blazers (Senior) – 2015 Presidents' Cup Winners Blazers – 2018, Kelver Darroux Basketball League Ball-o-rama Champions Blazers – 2019, DABA-7Six7 Mackeson National Basketball Cup League Ball-o-rama Champions, Young Vets – 2021, DABA 3x3 Tournament Champions

It will be noted that in two seasons, two Massacre teams brought home championship trophies. Firstly, in 1997 Blazers captured the Premier Division League Championship while Panthers took home the 3rd Level Men's Division League Championship trophy. Then in 2000, Blazers added the Premier Division Play-Off Championship to the collection, accompanied by Bullets who bought home the 2nd Level Men's Division League Championship trophy.

Referees Officiating in National League: Four basketball referees from Massacre have officiated in national league matches. Steve Abraham, Javeed Joseph, Harold "Zabokes" Julien and Bernard "Gwanbé" Lee all made their contribution officiating in DABA Premier Division encounters.

Massacre's Basketball League: Massacre, like other basketball centres around the island, has organised its own "Off-Season" League. The village's first such competition was held sometime in the 1990s, under the afternoon light, and apart from the five teams from the host community that league also attracted teams from Canefield, Salisbury and St. Joseph.

The second league was staged some years later when the court was lit and improved, and attracted teams from Canefield, Mahaut, Roseau (Bath Road) and Salisbury. The roster showcased four or five teams from Massacre, including Bébé's Kids, Black Hawks, Street Ballers and Yard Boys.

Sponsors of Massacre Basketball: To date, Massacre basketball teams have benefitted from the generosity of one individual and a few corporate sponsors, some of which operated close to Massacre.

Vanderpool Blaize sponsored Massacre in 1985, followed by SAG Toyota/SAG Motors who were the first sponsors of the Blazers Senior Team; that partnership began in 1993 and continued for five more seasons until 1998. SAG also sponsored Blazers II (second division team) for the latter's one-season appearance in 1993.

Also assisting teams from Massacre who participated in the national league were Caribbean Construction & Development (CCD) who sponsored the senior Blazers team, as well as Panthers in the 3rd Level Men's Division. Penta Paints, then FedEx were the sponsors of Bullets, while RJS sponsored Blazers (Senior) from 2007 - 2010. Gatorade was next in line, sponsoring Blazers (Senior) in 2013 and 2014, while D-Treads Tyres sponsored Blazers (Senior) in 2015 and 2016, and Blazers DI who played in the 2nd Level Men's Division in 2016

On behalf of all of the sponsored Massacre teams, Jump Ball says a BIG THANK YOU to all the sponsors for helping to keep basketball alive in Massacre.

Continues next edition.