By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

FOUR teams advanced to the championship round of the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) playoffs last night while their potential opponents square off today at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium.

The second seeded St John’s College Giants sent the third seeded Queen’s College Comets home after destroying them 42-26 yesterday.

The Giants were firmly in charge for a large portion of the game. The Comets managed to tie the game at 18 apiece with 59.4 seconds on the clock in the second quarter.

However, an unanswered 6-0 run by the Giants stomped away their hopes and gave them a 24-16 lead going into the break.

The third quarter began and the Giants erupted to a 10-point lead, running up the score to 32-22 after a pair of successful free throws.

The victors picked up the pace and pushed the lead to as much as 14 and they never looked back to not only secure the win but a spot in the championship game. The Giants will play the winner of the St Augustine’s College vs Charles W Saunders game scheduled for today at 4:30pm.

Malcolm Rahming, head coach of the Giants’ junior girls, was happy to see the team advance.

“We missed it by one point last year. We came and finally redeemed ourselves. We have to make more layups, we did not make enough today but I am still glad we pulled out the win so next game I am prepared to make layups, sharper passes and play more team ball,” the coach said.

The Comets’ junior boys showed resilience in a nail-biter against the Jordan Prince William Falcons. The team thwarted the Falcons’ chances of making it back to the championships by defeating them 44-43.

The Falcons seemed poised to return to the final round, leading 22-17 at halftime.

However, with the score tied at 43 after a Comets comeback, the team was fouled down the stretch.

The Comets converted a single free throw to take the win. The team will face the winner of the Giants vs Big Red Machine game today.

Rueben Monks Jr, head coach of the Comets, said his message to the team was patience.

“I just told them to be patient and just keep cracking at it.

“We weren’t playing the best defence and were missing assignments and layups but I just told them it is one of those games where everything isn’t going right but you just gotta keep playing through it,” Monks said.

The Giants senior girls returned to the finals for a second straight year after ousting last year’s opponent 45-29. SAC fell behind 14-10 in the opening quarter.

However, the Giants’ lead then blossomed to 37-27 and they never gave an edge after this point. The Giants will match up against the winners of the Kingsway Academy vs QC senior girls’ game.

Oswaldo Taylor, head coach of the Giants’ senior girls, said last year was a missed opportunity but the team has returned with vengeance. “This is hard work right here. We missed our opportunity last year to win it all but this year we are coming back with a vengeance.

“The defence was superb, the full court press is our main defence. That is what we stuck with all year long and what got us to this spot where we are at,” Taylor said.

The coach added that the Giants will look to play smarter basketball in the next round.

The Falcons’ senior boys played against Kingsway Academy. Scores were not available up to press time.

The BAISS sudden death playoffs continue today at 4:30pm.