分类： sports

One of the Caribbean’s most hotly anticipated domestic basketball championships has hit another roadblock, with organizers confirming a second major postponement of the Barbados Amateur Basketball Association (BABA) Co-Operators General Insurance Premier League finals. In an official public statement issued on June 8, the governing body announced the scheduling shift was explicitly designed to give the country’s senior men’s national squad uninterrupted time to gear up for the FIBA AmeriCup Pre-Qualifiers, a high-stakes regional tournament set to run from July 6 to 13, 2026 in Georgetown, Guyana. The domestic title round will not tip off until the entire national delegation returns to Barbados after the pre-qualifier event. This latest delay marks the third hold-up for the 2026 season, which has been plagued by logistical issues at the island’s only two purpose-built indoor basketball facilities: the Wildey Gymnasium and the Barbados Community College court. After the semi-final matchups wrapped on April 25, two teams punched their tickets to the championship: defending title holders Burger King Clapham Bulls and challengers CAM Smart Assurance City United Celtics. But the first scheduling hold-up came almost immediately, sparked by disputes over the newly installed playing surface at Wildey Gymnasium. Officials at the Celtics organization raised formal objections to the court markings on the new electronic floor, noting that key lines including the three-point arc were aligned to the dimension standards used in the U.S. National Basketball Association rather than the official measurements mandated by FIBA, the global governing body of the sport. Once those issues were partially addressed, organizers shifted the opening finals game to the Barbados Community College venue, but another technical problem derailed plans: a sudden total lighting failure left the court unplayable, crushing the expectations of fans and athletes who had already waited weeks for the championship round. With this latest postponement, the basketball community across Barbados is now left waiting again for a new official start date for the finals, which is expected to be announced once the national team’s pre-qualifier campaign concludes. Sports analysts across the region note that while the delay is frustrating for domestic fans, prioritizing the national team’s international qualifying push aligns with long-term goals for Barbadian basketball, which has been pushing to qualify for its first major FIBA continental tournament in recent years.

On a blustery Saturday night under bright floodlights at the iconic Historic Garrison Savannah, Barbados’ men’s XV rugby team secured a dominant 21-3 win over Guyana, extending their winning streak against the regional opponent to two consecutive years.

From the opening whistle, Guyana adopted an aggressive, physically intensive game plan, aiming to capitalize on any small mistake from the home side. This approach quickly resulted in a penalty try for Barbados’ Tyrese Prescod, putting the hosts on the scoreboard early. Unpredictable gusty winds turned every kicking attempt into a high-risk challenge for both squads, but neither side let the conditions slow their competitive pressure.

Sixteen minutes into the matchup, Barbados’ Nicholas Daniel broke through Guyana’s defensive line to score a conventional try, pushing the home side into a 5-3 lead. Shortly after, a rule infringement by Guyana allowed D’Andre Phillips to slot a penalty, extending Barbados’ advantage to 8-3 – a margin that held through halftime.

The second half opened with a series of determined offensive pushes from both teams, but strong defense and uncooperative winds kept the scoreboard unchanged for nearly 40 minutes. Even after Guyana received two consecutive yellow cards that left them short-handed, blustery conditions foiled every Barbadian penalty attempt. It was not until the 67th minute, when Guyana’s Renaldo Niles was sent off for an infringement, that Barbados finally added to their lead, with a successful penalty pushing the score to 11-3.

Winger Sean Ward extended the home side’s lead shortly after, crossing the try line to put Barbados up 16-3, though the wind once again blocked the conversion attempt. With just 10 minutes left on the clock, substitute Daniel Ramsay entered the match, and four minutes later he sealed the victory with a late try, bringing the final score to 21-3.

This win marks the second consecutive victory for Barbados over Guyana, following a far more lopsided 45-5 win in 2024. While Saturday’s margin of victory was far less dramatic than the previous matchup, the result still delivers a meaningful boost to Barbados’ standing in global rugby, moving the national side up to 59th place in the World Rugby Men’s rankings. Local fans turned out in strong numbers to support the home team at the historic venue, capping off a successful night for Barbadian rugby.

The annual National Sports Council BICO Primary School Football Competition has advanced into its next phase, with thrilling matches played across four zonal brackets this week, delivering a mix of lopsided blowouts and tense, last-minute finishes from youth squads across the country.

In the Keith Grell Griffith Zone, Wesley Hall Primary put on an offensive masterclass, netting five unopposed goals to secure a dominant 5-0 shutout victory over Al Falah School. The zone’s second fixture was a far more tightly contested affair, with Westbury Primary holding off a late comeback push from Trinity Academy to claim a narrow 3-2 win.

Matches in the Reginald Haynes/Victor Gas Clarke Zone, hosted at the Blenheim playing grounds, opened with St Giles Primary securing a solid 2-0 win against George Lamming Primary. Wilkie Cumberbatch Primary followed that performance with a 4-0 shutout of St Patrick’s Roman Catholic School, while Belmont Primary outscored Charles F Broome Memorial 4-2 in a high-scoring back-and-forth clash. Two other fixtures in the zone ended in all-square results: Belmont Primary and St Ambrose Primary split points after a 1-1 draw, and neither St Cyprian’s Boys nor Luther Thorne Memorial managed to find the back of the net, finishing with a 0-0 stalemate.

The Kenville Kab Layne Zone produced the tournament’s joint-biggest win of the matchweek, as St George Primary cruised to a comfortable 5-1 victory over a outmatched St Judes Primary. Mount Tabor Primary turned in a clinical defensive and offensive performance to beat Ellerton Primary 3-0, while Hitz 106.1 FM Bay Primary pulled off a narrow 3-2 upset win over Eagle’s Academy.

Down at the Briar Hall playing fields for matches in the Ricardo Mickey Gibson Zone, three fixtures ended in drawn results. Wills Primary and St Christopher’s Primary finished level at 1-1, while last year’s tournament runners-up Arthur Smith Primary also tied 1-1 against Milton Lynch Primary. St Lawrence Primary and People’s Cathedral Primary similarly split points with a 1-1 result. In other zone matches, Shirley Chisholm Primary notched a clean 3-0 win over St Bartholome’s Primary, and St Winifred’s School edged out St Gabriel’s Primary by a 2-1 final score.

At King George V Park, three matches kicked off in the Adrian Donovan/Michael Foster Zone. St Martin’s Mangrove Primary received a default 3-0 win after Bayley’s Primary was unable to field a full squad for the fixture. Blackman & Gollop Primary and Hilda Skeene Primary played to a 1-1 draw, while Gordon Walters Primary and Reynold Weekes Primary also finished all-square with an identical 1-1 result to close out the week’s matchday action.

The knockout stage of the Barbados Football Association (BFA) Champions Cup delivered dramatic twists and dominant performances on Sunday, as three more Round of 16 ties wrapped up at the Wildey Technical Centre. One title favorite secured a spot in the next round with a statement win, while another longtime contender exited the competition earlier than most projections predicted.

Leading the day’s action was defending Premier League and BFA Champions Cup title holder Weymouth Wales, who snapped a season-long goal drought to hand second-placed Division One side Parish Land a resounding 5-0 defeat. The lopsided result came in the final match of a triple-header, and it served as a much-needed confidence boost for a side that has struggled to find the back of the net through the current domestic campaign.

Wales got on the board in the 20th minute, after Parish Land squandered an early promising opportunity that saw the underdogs start the match brightly. Forward Hayden Holligan slotted home the opening goal to put the defending champions ahead. The second goal came via a stroke of bad luck for Parish Land in the 36th minute: a defender’s attempted clearance ricocheted off Wales midfielder Jaheim Neblett and trickled into the empty net, doubling Wales’ lead heading into halftime.

Substitute Armando Lashley extended the advantage to 3-0 in the 59th minute, carrying over the strong run of form he has built in recent weeks. With Parish Land reeling and unable to mount a consistent counterattack, Weymouth Wales added two late goals to cap off the rout: Rommel Bynoe found the net in the 62nd minute, and Rashad Jules closed out the scoring in the 80th minute.

Following the win, Weymouth Wales head coach Asquith Howell framed the result as a critical milestone ahead of upcoming regional and domestic competitions. The side qualified for the 2024 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Shield by retaining their domestic Premier League title, and this year’s regional competition will follow a single-elimination knockout format, with Weymouth Wales entering at the Round of 16 stage.

“One of the key focuses of our training lately has been expanding our attacking options ahead of the CFU competition,” Howell explained. “We’ve faced a lot of challenges with scoring goals this year, so tonight’s performance is a great starting point. We still have a long way to go, but this is solid progress. Since we know the CFU Club Shield will be knockout football, we definitely need to start finding the back of the net more consistently, and this win checked that box.”

In the day’s second upset, traditional title contender Ellerton was ousted from the competition by UWI Blackbirds following a back-and-forth, tightly contested match. Teon Cadogan put UWI ahead early, netting in the 16th minute to put the Cave Hill-based side on the front foot. After 25 minutes of continuous end-to-end action, Ellerton capitalized on a UWI defensive mistake to equalize in the 40th minute through Marco St Hill, sending the two sides into halftime level at one apiece.

Rovaldo Massiah restored UWI’s lead 12 minutes after the break, curling a well-placed strike past the Ellerton goalkeeper to make the score 2-1 in the 52nd minute. Despite sustained late pressure from Ellerton pushing for an equalizer, UWI held firm to defend their lead and secure a spot in the quarter-finals.

Speaking after the win, UWI assistant coach Ricardo Goddard praised his side’s discipline in sticking to their pre-match game plan. “I think we played well in stretches, and we mostly stuck to what we drew up before the game, and when you execute your game plan, you usually get the result you want,” Goddard said. He noted that scoring first in a knockout competition is a massive advantage: “Our focus going in was to avoid giving up the first goal, because once you’re chasing the game in knockout football, the opposing side often drops back to defend their lead, and if you don’t have the creativity to break them down, you end up scrambling and making mistakes. Getting on the board first made all the difference today.”

In the opening match of Sunday’s triple-header, Eyre’s Meatshop Pride of Gall Hill booked their quarter-final spot with a 2-0 victory over Notre Dame. Shakarie Mottley put Gall Hill ahead in the 19th minute, and an 88th-minute own goal from a Notre Dame defender sealed the win to send the side through.

Ahead of the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup, one of the most anticipated global events in women’s cricket, India’s national women’s team picked up a confidence-boosting 26-run win over the West Indies women’s side in a warm-up fixture held in Cardiff on Monday.

With regular West Indies captain Hayley Matthews sidelined for the warm-up encounter, all-rounder Chinelle Henry stepped up to lead the Caribbean side. After winning the pre-game coin toss, Henry made the call to send India into bat first, putting her bowling unit to an early test. India’s top order delivered a dynamic batting performance, building up to a competitive total of 179 runs for the loss of eight wickets at the close of their 20 overs.

Emerging batter Bharti Fulmali emerged as India’s standout performer with the bat, striking an unbeaten half-century off just 40 deliveries to anchor the late-innings push. Star opener Smriti Mandhana added a quick-fire 39 runs from 23 balls, giving India’s innings a powerful early momentum, while Yastika Bhatia chipped in with 36 runs before retiring out per warm-up match protocols. For West Indies, veteran spinner Afy Fletcher turned in a dominant bowling display, claiming four wickets for just 23 runs to keep her side in contention. Karishma Ramharack, Deandra Dottin and Aaliyah Alleyne each picked up one wicket to round out the West Indies bowling effort.

Chasing the 180-run target, West Indies got off to a flying start, putting on 63 runs without losing a wicket by the ninth over. But a sudden batting collapse turned the tide of the match: the Caribbean side slumped to 102 runs for five wickets by the 14th over, and could never recover their early momentum. They were eventually restricted to 153 runs for eight wickets, falling 26 runs short of India’s total. Opener Dottin led the West Indies batting with a 44-ball 49, and opening partner Shemaine Campbelle scored 25 runs before retiring out, but the rest of the batting line-up failed to build on the solid opening stand. For India, young spinner Shreyanka Patil was the pick of the bowlers, taking four wickets for 36 runs, while left-arm spinner Radha Yadav supported her with three wickets for just 25 runs to seal the win.

Following the match, Fletcher reflected on her strong individual performance, noting that she was pleased to see her off-season pre-tournament preparation pay off ahead of the World Cup. “It’s always good to be among the wicket takers, so I mean to see that work that has been done and to come out and just keep it simple and executing, it’s a good feeling,” Fletcher said. “Then the contribution from the team was excellent work. It’s always good to be contributing to the team.”

West Indies will wrap up their warm-up schedule against defending champions Australia in Cardiff on Wednesday, before kicking off their official World Cup campaign against New Zealand in their opening group match on June 13.