By Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway
V.I. Elite’s Leonardo Castillo makes a shot over Tola’s Antwain Johnson
Before a packed Multipurpose Sports Complex late Saturday night, Virgin Islands Elite erased an 11-point deficit, took a one point 69-68 lead it wouldn’t relinquish with 10.3 seconds left in the third quarter, in route to beating Tola, 100-91, to win the Kings of the Court ‘relive the shot” and claimed the $7,500 winner takes all prize.
The game came about after the May 17, Kings of the Court semifinal, when Virgin Islands Elite’s Zion Jones, made the 4-point shot behind the line in the closing moments of the game, giving them a 71-70 advantage over Tola, with 0.3 seconds left . The referee ruled the shot was a 3-pointer, tying the score at 70-70, at the end of regulation. Tola prevailed 87-84, in overtime over the two times defending champs, but lost to the Virgin Gorda Bayside Blazers, 87-67 in the final.
Kings of the Court organizer Steve Parillon, has now set June 21 as the “what if game” the final chapter, with Virgin Islands Elite vs the 2025 champions Virgin Gorda Bayside Blazers, playing for a $20,000 cash prize.
“It means everything to us because it took our hearts away the first time, but to come back, play and be victorious, it means everything,” said Lanese Bough, after Naheem Olivacce led six players in double figures with 18 and Jones followed up with 16. “It was just defensive stops. In the first three quarters, we were glitching but wasn’t getting that camaraderie to get that stop on defence. We were having them attack the middle a lot, but telling them over and over and finally they listened.”
After learning there would be a replay game, Bough, who lives on St. Croix where the majority of the players reside and trains the St. Thomas players via text and videos, told Island Sun Sports they returned to the gym, did shooting around to prepare. “I would tell them, I hope you’re working out over there in St. Thomas, and when we get together, we get that same chemistry and play,” she said. “It’s obviously a widespread challenge across the whole Virgin Islands, just to get everybody across the waters and some players live stateside, it’s a challenge but we make it happen.”
After Antwain Johnson led all scorers with 26 points, Tola coach Jameel Heywood said they definitely had control of the game for the first three quarters. “The four point play has been a big part of their (V.I. Elite) offense. Going into the fourth they hit a big three, put themselves up on and their defence got going a little bit and we felt the pressure,” he said. “They made eight points in less than three seconds and that was a big turning point in the game. They played well, they hung in there when we had total control of the game, but they kept hanging in there and they made the plays down the stretch.”
