LeVaughn Flynn, Staff Reporter
Malcolm - file
PROMOTED TEAMS Catherine Hall All-Stars of Montego Bay and Port Royal Bulls tip off the 2008 KFC National Basketball League (NBL) season at the Edgewater Sports Complex this afternoon at 4:30.
The rookie clubs will be vying for the President's Trophy and that game will be preceded by the opening ceremony. Following the opening game, reigning champions Urban Knights face beaten finalists Blazing Panthers for the TVJ Trophy.
The league is unique this year as there are three new teams. All-island champs Jamaica Defence Force got a bye following the merger of Tivoli All-Stars and Denham Town Wizards to become Tivoli Wizards.
promoted
Port Royal of the Southern Conference and Catherine Hall of the Western Conference were promoted following the demotion of Harbour View Lakers and Pure Playaz. While Playaz were relegated due to their record, Harbour View were disqualified during the middle of the season after two forfeitures.
Catherine Hall, led by guard Goyan Malcolm and centre Jermaine Dillon, topped the Western Basketball Conference last year on their way to the NBL. Player/coach Rodcliffe Rhynie said his team will be trying to avoid the fate that has met the promoted teams in the past - a brief one-season stint in the NBL.
"We expect to stay in the league and show that we belong here," Rhynie said.
have good centre
He describes his team's style of play as transitional, but added that, "We also have a good centre (Dillon), so if we don't have the fastbreak we can dump it in the post".
Catherine Hall will be banking on the experience of Dave Black and Jermaine Rerrie who played in the NBL with Norwood Storms two seasons ago, while Malcolm previously played with Runnin' Rebels.
While most of the Catherine Hall players may be new to the basketball fraternity, Port Royal boast several familiar faces, particularly Paul Oliphant, Damion Young and Leighton Meeks, who were part of the Tivoli All-Stars dynasty which won four consecutive titles between 2000 and 2003.
aggressive defence
They will also bring with them potent scoring ability and aggressive defence, particularly from Young and Oliphant, and time will tell if this translates into a cohesive unit and wins for the new club.
In today's second game, Panthers battle Knights at 6:30 p.m. with a chance to avenge their 2-0 loss in the best-of-three finals last season. Urban Knights, who resumed training shortly after winning their second title in December, should be in good shape heading into the match against Blazers.
murray will be missed
Knights will, however, have to get used to playing without Linton Murray, the team's leader in not only scoring, but also leadership, last season. Knights' assistant coach Kevin Alexander said he is expecting Andrew Whilby, who was promoted to captain after Murray accepted a basketball scholarship in the United States, to provide that leadership.
Knights will also be missing Murray's scoring - 19 points per game last season. Omar Barnes, formerly of Tivoli All-Stars, has joined the Knights and is expected to provide that scoring option with his ability to slash to the basket and hit the open shot.
"We also expect significant offensive input from Dave Blackwood and Michael Morris," noted Alexander.
Meanwhile, Panthers' coach, Donald Bimmer, admitted that his team may be a bit rusty on opening day but that he expects a steady progression as the season unfolds.
"We are not where we want to be but as the season goes along we expect to peak at the right time," said Bimmer.
"We have been doing more conditioning work and focusing on stepping up our defence," he said.
Nifty guard Leon Chung has joined the Blazers set-up from St George's Slayers along with Troy Campbell, formerly of Denham Town Wizards.
