BOJ begin Business House 3-on-3 basketball with 28-19 win over Gleaner/rjr Group

DEFENDING champions Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) defeated Gleaner/rjr Group 28-19 as the 2018 Business House Basketball Association (BHBA) Division One League 3-on-3 got under way at National Arena on Wednesday.

Coach Rohan Robinson said though it was nice to start the defence on a winning note but it was not an easy game, as the Gleaner/rjr Communications Group are a very physical aggregation.

“We saw it as a revenge win, as the Communications Group had beaten the bankers in the opening rally final recently, and we were determined to turn the tables on our opponents,” Robinson said.

He said it was hard to make any shots as the game was a bit physical, but his players managed to take on the challenge and in the end won a tough game.

Robinson noted that he will not have the services of top player Kwame Lawrence this season, but should be relying heavily on Michael Rodgers, Omari Green and Anthony White as his key players.

“The trio will have to do most of the scoring this season while I expect the remaining players to play their part, as the games are not expected to be easy,” he added.

Meanwhile, last season’s runners-up National Housing Trust (NHT) lost their opening game 23-28 to Urban Development Corporation (UDC), who were promoted to the Division One League after winning the Division Two League title last season.

The 12 teams contesting the Division One League 3-on-3 competition are defending champions BOJ, NHT, UDC, The Gleaner/rjr Communications Group, Sagicor Group ‘A’, NCB Financial Group, Guardsman Group, Ministry of Education, National Water Commission, Conduent, and IBEX Global Inc.

Ten business house teams will participate in Division Two.

The other participating teams are Aerotel/jamaica Civil Aviation Authority, National Land Agency, Industrial Commercial Development, Pepsi/celebration Brands, Unicomer/ Courts Limited, Jamaica Money, Sagicor Group B, Jamaica Fire Brigade, Financial Services Commission (FSC), and Western Sports Limited.

Meanwhile, the 2018 BHBA season got under way with an opening rally. Later The Gleaner/rjr Communications Group defeated Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) 9-5 in the final while Sagicor Group ‘A’ got by Conduent 12-10 to finish in third position.

In the semi-finals, The Gleaner/rjr Communications Group got the better of Conduent 12-10, while BOJ clinched a narrow 11-10 win over Sagicor A.

The competition takes a break due to the unavailability of National Arena, which is being used for the Caribbean Table Tennis Championships.

RESULTS OF MATCHES

Division One League

Bank of Jamaica 28, Gleaner/rjr Group 19

UDC 28, NHT 23

Guardsman Group 24 Cari-med 19 IBEX Global 30, NCB 28

Sagicor A 38, Ministry of Education 31 Division Two League

ICD 26, Western Sports 17