The Central Secondary Schools Sports Association (CSSSA) annual high school basketball tournament tipped off on Thursday, October 31, at Bird’s Isle. There are 5 female (F) teams and 8 male (M) school teams participating in this year’s tournament.

In the female (F) opener on Thursday, Gwen Lizarraga High School (GLH) crushed St. Catherine Academy (SCA), 37-10, behind An Ma Chang 12 pts, Kekee Requena 10 pts, and Vivica Young 9 pts; while for SCA, Indie Dixon and Krysten Zayden each had 4 pts. The male (M) nightcap saw Nazarene High School (NHS) getting the 51-41 win over Ladyville Technical High School (LTH). Nazarene was led by Shaqueam Valerio 17 pts, Eldon August 15 pts, and Gregory Lambey and Anfernee Brooks with 7 pts apiece; while top scorers for LTH were Rashid Bethran 13 pts and Khalil Noralez 10 pts.

On Friday, November 1, the female (F) opener saw Ladyville Tech blowing out Pallotti High School (PHS), 29-9. Leading Ladyville Tech were Dejanne Noralez 20 pts and Shameika Franklin 8 pts; while Megan Longsworth 6 pts and Shavony Chen 3 pts accounted for all Pallotti’s scoring. And in the male (M) nightcap, it was down to the wire, as Gwen Liz eventually won, 56-51, in over-time over Wesley (WES). Gerald Gillett, K’Lon Augustus and Mark Thompson each scored 10 pts for Gwen Liz, along with Frederick Williams who added 9 pts; while for Wesley, Jason Arnold led all scorers with 28 pts and Jaron Palacio netted 18 pts in the loss.

This week’s schedule:

Mon. Nov. 4 – (M) SJC vs ACC; (M) GLH vs NHS

Tues. Nov. 5 – (F) LTH vs GLH; (F) PHS vs WES

Wed. Nov. 6 – (M) SVT vs SJC; (M) ACC vs EHS