Jaguars eye nat'l basketball title

Paul Clarke, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:After doing away with Hoopers 76-72 to win the Flow National Basketball League Western Conference final last week, Granville Jaguars are plotting a course they hope will take them further than they have ever been - lifting the national title.

The Jaguars, who have lost only three games this season, will battle St George's Slayers in the win-or-go-home Round of 16 game at Montego Bay Cricket Club at 5 p.m.

"We have a strong team, an all-round team," stressed Dwight Claire, the Jaguars head coach, "and we are quietly going about our business with the aim of winning the national title."

Key players such as centre Leroy Lawrence the leading MVP prospect and top point guard Dave Black were their usual self against Hoopers, with tremendous help from Lamardo Gaubault, whose 21 points, two blocks and three steals were the high points of the final, proving that their sufficient depth will be very important in the Round of 16.

"Gaubault stepped up for us in the final and this shows that we have a great unit that is capable of going a far way and with the right preparation all things are possible," said Claire.

"We will be better in the Round of 16," reasoned Claire, who was also at the helm last year when his Jaguars were knocked out of the title race.

The Slayers are perhaps the tallest team in the competition and Claire is well aware that his team will need to negate their length with strong defence and ball movement.

"They have a big team in terms of size and they are good shooters, but we have been training to negate this size disadvantage, where we need to focus on ball movement and our strong defensive presence to stall them," reasoned Claire.

Lawrence, the Jaguars big man who averaged 21.06 points per game, will be crucial if they are to extend their season beyond the Round of 16.

Western Conference runners-up, Hoopers, will bow into the knockout phase with a home game against Runnin Rebels, also at 6:45 p.m., to open the double-header game night, while third-place finishers Catherine Hall All-Stars will travel to Kingston to face the highly rated Urban Knights, the defending champions.