CHRIST CHURCH, Barbados – The Virgin Islands men’s basketball team secured a top seed in the medal round of the Caricom Championships on Wednesday night with a convincing 90-68 victory over Trinidad & Tobago while the territory’s women topped host Barbados.
The Virgin Islands finished the preliminary round with a 3-0 record and will take on the to-be-determined second-place team in Group B during Friday’s medal round. The top two teams in each group will earn a spot in the semifinals with the No. 1 seeds going against the No. 2 seeds.
"We are getting better and better with each game," said V.I. Coach Tvester Anderson, who is also head coach at Murray State in Kentucky. "In this game, we were making plays we didn’t make in the first game."
The Virgin Islands, looking like "The Dream Team of Paradise," took a 26-9 lead in the first 10 minutes and led by as many as 26 points in the first half. Trinidad & Tobago managed to cut the deficit to eight points in the second half but the Virgin Islands responded with crowd-pleasing dunks.
Tyrone Allick and Leroy Blyden led the V.I. charge with 18 points apiece. Blyden also had 10 rebounds. The V.I.’s Cuthbert Victor, the youngest player on the court, chipped in 15 points, including a late second-half dunk that brought the crowd to its feet.
The Virgin Islands beat defending champion Belize 64-60 on Tuesday and downed St. Kitts/Nevis 77-70 in the opener.
The semifinal games are scheduled for Friday night with the championship contest slated for 9 p.m. Saturday night at the Wildey gym at the Sir Garfield Sobers Sports Complex. The championship will be broadcast live on Caribbean television.
The Virgin Islands men and women came away with victories Wednesday. The women beat previously unbeaten Barbados 66-54.
Tajama Abraham and Natasha Lettsome each had a double-double as the Virgin Islands women improved to 2-2 in the six-team tournament. Abraham, a former WNBA player with the Seattle Storm, scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Lettsome, a forward at Appalachian State, grabbed 13 rebounds to go along with 10 points.
Virgin Islands point guard D’Mour King, who left the game twice for medical attention, scored 18 points, including the final four free throws to seal the game.
The Virgin Islands women will earn a spot in the medal round with a victory today over the Bahamas, 1-3.
"Tonight, we came together as a unit," said Lettsome, a Charlotte Amalie High School graduate. "We gave the same effort for 40 minutes. Once we come together as a cohesive group, nobody can beat us."
The Virgin Islands women, playing in international competition for the first time in 26 years, took a 14-4 lead and never trailed. Barbados, 3-1, pulled to within 52-50 with 5 minutes remaining, but the Virgin Islands outscored the host team 14-4 in the final minutes. During that 10-point swing, King scored seven points.
Celia Collymore paced Barbados with 18 points and teammate Sherry Holder added 12 points.
