The fifth annual Aloysius “Loloy” Daniel Youth Basketball Tournament delivered its most thrilling matchup of the competition so far on Wednesday evening, as the Antigua & Barbuda Pitbulls pulled off a last-second 68-65 victory over the East Coast Academy (ECA) Lions to close out Day 3 at Beausejour Gymnasium. The win shook up the tournament standings, while defending three-time champion New Chapter Academy (NCA) Warriors extended their undefeated streak and Guyana’s D-Up Academy notched its first win of the tournament.
The nightcap matchup delivered all the tension and drama of a late-tournament clash, long before the final buzzer. The Antigua & Barbuda side got off to a blistering start, leveraging sharp, fast-break transition offense to build a 23-12 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Lions refused to fold, however, and stormed back with a dominant 21-10 scoring run in the second quarter to knot the game at 33 heading into halftime.
After a tight third quarter, the Pitbulls carried a 52-47 advantage into the final frame, at one point stretching their lead to six points. As clock wound down, the Lions mounted a furious comeback, erasing the deficit to tie the score at 65 with mere seconds left on the game clock.
What looked set to send the game into overtime took a stunning turn: The Lions secured a rebound off what would have been the Pitbulls’ final game-winning attempt, but with just six seconds remaining to advance the ball, a careless dribble out of the backcourt turned into a game-changing turnover. The Pitbulls capitalized on the steal, sinking a buzzer-beating field goal and drawing a foul to add an extra point from the free-throw line, sealing the three-point win before the final horn sounded.
Individually, the Pitbulls were led by standout Gabriel De Souza, who dropped 25 points and pulled down four rebounds to anchor his team’s victory. Yohhan Nicholas contributed a double-digit effort with 13 points and six rebounds. For the Lions, Nezan Lewis turned in an impressive double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds, while Sage Lewis added 17 points and Nyel Joseph chipped in 15 points in the narrow loss.
Earlier in the day, the three-time defending champion NCA Warriors from Trinidad & Tobago stayed perfect through three matches, crushing the ECA Tigers by a lopsided 124-31 score. Josiah John led the Warriors’ offensive charge with 31 points, 10 steals, and seven rebounds, while Zion Roberts notched a double-double of 18 points and 11 steals, and Zaiden Charles added 17 points. The Tigers’ top performer, Rushan Williams, finished the game with 12 points and five rebounds in the losing effort.
In the day’s second matchup, Guyana’s D-Up Academy celebrated its first win of the tournament after dropping its first two matches, cruising to a 71-30 victory over Basketball For The Future (BFTF) Pitbulls. Aliandro Wickman paced D-Up with 22 points and seven rebounds, and Eli Archer backed him up with 18 points and seven rebounds of his own. For BFTF, Azem Edward turned in a bright spot with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.