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Holmwood, Manchester shooting for rural basketball titles
March 06, 2026
Defending champions Manchester High School will be fighting to keep their title hopes alive when they host Herbert Morrison Technical High School (HMTHS) in Game 2 of the ISSA rural Under-16 basketball final today, as the best-of-three championship series enters a decisive stage.
With HMTHS holding the advantage in the series, Manchester High will be under pressure to respond on home court to force a Game 3.
In Game 1, HMTHS cruised by Manchester 57-36.
Damon Sullivan, coach of Manchester, emphasised the need to prepare better for the next two home games, focusing on organising against the press and maintaining composure under pressure.
"It's just for us to go to the drawing board in a proper training session over the breaking of the press. They didn't press in all of the game. It's just to execute handling the press after they make a basket, that is where the issue comes," said Sullivan.
With a chance to keep their season alive, Manchester will need their top shooters to help give them a fighting chance against a hungry HMTHS.
Levar Rose, coach of HMTHS, is optimistic about his team's chances in today's game.
"The mindset going into the away game is we should be fully confident. We also have to think about Manchester's home court advantage. We just have to remain consistent and execute our game plan going into their home and try to come out as the winner," said Rose, who aims to keep their unbeaten record intact.
U19 GAME 2
In another tip-off at 3:45 p.m., Manchester's Under-19s will look to wrap up their series when they face first-time finalists Holmwood Technical High in what promises to be a thrilling encounter. In Game 1, Manchester dismantled Holmwood 102-61 to push them on the verge of elimination.
Sullivan stated that the need for mental preparation and execution is important.
"Hard work pays off. We have changed where we have been more aggressive this year in terms of preparation, because I don't want the team to end up feeling that we will automatically win the third championship," added Sullivan.
Meanwhile Andre Brown, the coach of Holmwood, emphasised the importance of defence and staying connected as a group.
"I think at times we kind of fall off defensively. We have to stay connected and disciplined on defence, play our style of basketball, the system that we run, and stick with it," said Brown.
In Game 1, it was their first loss of the season. Should they win, it would push the series to Game 3.
Meanwhile, in the ISSA schoolgirls competition, St James' Mount Alvernia High and Clarendon's Glenmuir High registered emphatic wins yesterday.
Led by Jashauna Brown's superb effort with 18 points and six rebounds, and Brianna Bailey, eight points, seven rebounds, Mount Alvernia defeated Old Harbour High 53-5. Stacy-Ann McBean scored four points for Old Harbour.
Glenmuir defeated Christiana High 34-9, with Nya Mendez and Tori Williams each scoring 12 points.
