Adrian Frater, News Editor

Antoniel Watson (left) of Muschette High School dribbles the ball as he is confronted by St George's College's Huntley Cameron during their KFC/ISSA National Basketball Championship Under-19 game at Montego Bay Cricket Club on Monday. St George's won 102-75. - Adrian Frater photo

Western Bureau:

Two of the four western teams in the KFC/ISSA National Basketball Championship play-offs were sent packing on Monday afternoon after suffering heavy defeats to schools from the eastern part of the island in a double-header at the Montego Bay Cricket Club Courts.

In a Zone Four Under-16 contest, the first game of the double-header, St Jago High handed Cornwall College their second defeat of the play-offs, trouncing them by a hefty 100-36, which left the Montego Bay boys both stunned and embarrassed.

In the feature game, a Zone Four Under-19 fixture, Muschette High were eliminated from the race for semi-final places when they buckled to the might of St George's College 75-102.

In the Under-16 contest, it was one-way traffic from start to finish as the Spanish Town-based St Jago won the four quarters 20-10, 21-13, 25-10 and 34-3.

Jermaine Parker was the outstanding player for St Jago, scoring 21 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Parker got quality support from Rhogel Witter, who had 21 points and 12 rebounds and Le-Antonio Stephenson, who got 11 points and 10 rebounds.

On winning

"This is the first time we are reaching 100 points in a game this season so we are quite pleased about it," said a smiling Parker, moments after his team's win. "We were expecting to win but not by such a margin."

In the Under-19 contest, Muschette managed to draw two of the quarters 16-16 and 25-25 but fared quite badly in the other two, losing 20-35 and 14-26 as St George's showed greater strength commitment.

Lauriston Gibson was the top man for St George's, scoring a team-high 17 points. Khaleel Smith gave invaluable support, scoring 16 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Fitzroy Gordon, who had a game-high 24 points, and Anthony Watson, who got 14, were the top players for Muschette.

The play-offs, which feature the first and second place winners from the various confederations, will see the top two teams from the four zones in the Under-16 and Under-19 categories advancing to the semi-final round.

Ardenne, Kingston College and Old Harbour have already qualified for both the Under-16 and Under-19 semi-finals. The other semi-finalists for both competitions will be decided following the final round of preliminary games this Friday.