Adrian Frater, News Editor
Western Bureau:
Norwood Storms cap-tured the final title of the 2006 Western Basketball Association (WBA) Men's season on Saturday night when they scored a hard-fought 81-79 win over Glendevon Snipers to capture the WBA President's KO title at the Montego Bay Cricket Club Courts.
"The game turned out to be a lot tougher than we expected but in the end we prevailed because we are without a doubt the best team in western Jamaica," said Sheldon Pearson, coach of the Storms team.
He added: "Had we played our best game, victory would have come a lot easier."
In a game which became quite contentious towards the end as the players and supporters reacted to the relentless pressure on the court, Storms won three of the four quarters, giving Snipers their only glimmer of hope in the second, which they won 26-12; and for a brief moment in the final quarter when they drew level at 74-74.
Bad start
The game started badly for Storms when they lost top player Nicholas Rhooms who was expelled for a blatant foul. However, they quickly regained their composure to win the quarter 22-15 as Omar Taylor, who finished with a game-high 26 points, stepped up to the occasion.
In the second quarter, it was exciting end-to-end action with Snipers throwing everything in attack through the powerful Lloyd Dixon, who ended with 21 points. However, Storms took the quarter 27-18 to establish a good 49-33 half-time lead.
In the third quarter, Snipers wrestled for control with Dixon and Ray Howard, who got 16 points, putting serious pressure on the Storms' defence. It was not surprising as they won the quarter 26-12 and started looking like creating an upset.
In the final quarter Dave Black who finished with 20 points, and Rayan Smith, who contributed 18, came up big for Storms as Snipers' challenge was firmly met and blunted. In the end, while Snipers kept on fighting, the quarter's 20-20 scoreline was enough for Storms to lift the title.
At the end of the game, Storms reacted angrily when they learnt that the winning trophy, which the organisers had not taken to the venue, would not be presented until a date to be announced by the WBA.
