Adrian Frater, News Editor

Andrae Morgan (right), captain of the Hoopers team, receives the Western Basketball Association (WBA) Lucozade Men's Championship Trophy from Charles Stephenson (second left), president of the WBA, after his team's Game Five win over Inner-City Avalanche at the Montego Bay Cricket Club on Sunday night. Hoopers won 71-70 to clinch the best-of-five series 3-2. - Photo by Adrian Frater

Western Bureau:

Hoopers won their first Western Basketball Association (WBA) Lucozade Men's Championship title on Sunday night, when they clipped Inner-City Avalanche 71-70 to win Game Five and the closely contested best-of-five Finals series 3-2.

In the game at the Montego Bay Cricket Club, Avalanche led through the first three quarters, but Hoopers changed gear in the final quarter and proved more decisive in crunch time, holding their nerves to secure the one-point margin of victory.

Dominance

"I'm extremely happy for the lads because they really put out a lot of work this season," said Douglas Reid, Hoopers' coach. "Avalanche out-hustled us in the first half, but we managed to do it to them in the second half."

In the first quarter, the Galton Taylor-coached Avalanche had the better of the action, as despite squandering numerous scoring opportunities, they managed to establish an 18-15 lead. The dominance extended into the second quarter, which they won 18-10 to establish a commanding 34-25 half-time lead.

Hoopers' comeback started in earnest in the third quarter, as the applied relentless pressure that forced Avalanche to buckle, resulting in numerous mistakes. Hoopers won the quarter 23-15 to cut the gap by one point, 49-48, going into the final quarter.

This was a ding-dong affair with the teams trading baskets. In the end, Hoopers snatched victory only because while they were able to stay composed as a team, Avalanche's discipline broke down with the players abandoning team play for individual glory.

"We had this game to win but we gave it away," said a disappointed Taylor. "We had the game in control but some players decided to do their own thing and here we are, the losers of a game we should have won."

Wild cheers

Hoopers win, which was greeted by wild cheers from their legion of female fans, was primarily spearheaded by Marlon Comrie who had a brilliant game, scoring 23 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. He was well supported by Nicholas Daye, who contributed 15 points.

"I feel that we have been the best team in this league for the past two years, but we somehow always fail to go all the way," said Hoopers captain Andrae Morgan. "This time around, we managed to get it right and it is such a huge relief."

Avalanche got fairly good performances from Cleon Morgan, who had a team-high 18 points and Chayne Topey and Damian Smith, who both got 12 points apiece.