By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Bain and Grants Town Cybots along with the Police Crimestoppers were the final two teams standing in last year’s Bahamas Government Departmental Association (BGDBA) playoffs and now both teams have begun their journey back to potentially the championship round.

The Cybots, the defending champions, got their BGDBA postseason campaign started with a 78-60 victory over the Airport Authority Avengers on Wednesday night at the DW Davis Gymnasium.

The Crimestoppers, last year’s runners-up, knocked off the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture Panthers 69-60 to prevail 1-0 in the best-of-three playoff series.

Cybots vs Avengers

The Cybots came into the 2024 BGDBA playoffs sporting the second best record in the league and with strong championship aspirations.

The reigning champions simply outwilled the Avengers with efficient offensive output and stingy defence. The team shot 45.8 per cent from the field and 39 per cent from deep, while holding the Avengers to 29.3 per cent from the field and 25.8 per cent from deep.

Keithan Gray shouldered the load for the Cybots with a team-high 13 points, 10 boards and 3 steals. His teammate Ernest Saunders scored 11 points and picked up 5 dimes and steals apiece.

The ball game was close in the first half with both teams exchanging the lead on multiple occassions. 

The Avengers would take the first quarter 21-17 to go into the second quarter with a slight edge.

Despite trailing early on, the Cybots kept their composure and overtook the Avengers 25-23 off a layup made by Gray at the 6:27 mark. They took command of the game and managed to outscore the Avengers 25-15 for a 42-36 advantage going into the halftime break.

The Cybots ran the score up to 10 (46-36) in the third quarter and continued to pile on the offence. They went up by as much as 16 during this period and the score was 56-48 ahead of the final period of play. 

The 2023 champions closed out the fourth quarter on an 11-2 run to put the lid on game one of the series.

Anthon Williams had a game-high 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and steals in the game one loss for the Avengers.

Crimestoppers vs Panthers

The Crimestoppers and Panthers are certainly familiar foes. The Police Crimestoppers ended the MOYSC Panthers season early in last year’s playoffs and are looking to repeat that feat this time around.

Kirklyn Farrington and Cameron Chery poured in 12 points apiece for the winners. Farrington turned in 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals while shooting 5-for-10 in the game. Chery ended the night with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Meanwhile, Roosevelt Whylly had it going for the Panthers with a game-high 22 points, 16 rebounds and 3 steals but it wasn’t enough to stop the Crimestoppers.

The Police Crimestoppers got off to a scorching hot start in game one. They steamrolled the Panthers in the opening period to gain a 26-10 edge at the end of the first.

Whylly cashed in on two freebies at the freethrow line and shaved the Crimestoppers lead down to 8 (38-30) with less than two minutes to go before halftime. Shortly after, Adam Johnson, of the Crimestoppers, made two free throws of his own at the charity stripe to extend the score to 40-30 at the intermission.

The game’s intensity increased in the second half as the Panthers pounced on the Crimestoppers and leveled the score at 47.

Whylly then threw down a crowd-pleasing dunk to give the Panthers control of the game. His team were ahead 51-49 to complete the third period.

Basketball is surely a game of runs. The Crimestoppers bounced back in the final period, outscoring the Panthers 20-9 en route to the game one victory.

The BGDBA Playoffs will takeover the DW Davis Gymnasium this weekend. 

Tonight’s double header features the Bahamas Department of Corrections Challengers versus the Bamboo Shack Patrollers in game one and the Real Deal Rangers vs the Nassau Flight Services Ballers in game two.

Saturday’s action features the Panthers versus the Crimestoppers in game one and the Avengers vs the Cybots in game two.

Games start at 7:30pm both nights.