The United States Virgin Islands (ISV) Junior Boys Basketball Team played what turned into their final game at the 2024 U15 CentroBasket U15 Male Basketball Tournament in Juarez, Mexico.
It was a battle to stay out of seventh place, as both teams were winless after the pool play round of the event. ISV faced El Salvador for the right to move on to the consolation bracket. The loser would place last in this seven-team tournament.
ISV started strong, taking a 59-47 lead into the fourth quarter. The boys from El Salvador played the final frame with heart and determination, going on a 19-7 point run to tie the score at 66 with 3:27 to go in the game. The Virgin Islands leading scorer, Rubio Heywood, hit a jump shot to put ISV up by 2 points. After exchanging free throws, Heywood nailed another jump shot, giving ISV a slim one-point lead with under 1:00 left in the game. El Salvador’s Lucas Argueta made a three-point shot, putting the Central American team up for good. Heywood was the top performer for ISV with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Teammate Te’Mhani Joseph also earned a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards for the Virgin Islands. Jorge Barrientos scored 22 points for El Salvador. Freddy Lopez contributed 12 points and 20 rebounds for the winning team.
While ISV Basketball Federation had a team of under 15-year-olds playing in Mexico, ISV Baseball Federation had a group of boys in the same age group competing in Nassau, Bahamans. The Caribbean U15 Baseball Cup started on Wednesday, Dec. 4 and will end on Monday. ISV lost their first two games before coming back and winning the third. Cuba got the best of the Virgin Islands 12-0 on the opening day of the tournament. The host, Bahamas, was not too gracious as the home team defeated ISV 11-1. The Virgin Islands boys bounced back with a 17-8 win against St. Maarten. ISV wraps up play on Monday in the third-place game against St. Maarten.
Here are the players for ISV U15 Boys Baseball Team:
D’yonjae Aubain
Keshawn Callwood Jr.
Ricardo Garcia
Jahsani George
D’Waine Gumbs
Seiba Joseph Jr.
Ni’Yel Lewis
Roshard Lewis
Anerae Mason
Kayce Maynard
Jorge Pantoja
Eliezer Ramirez Jr.
Di’John Rios
Elijah Rosario
Manager – Kyle LaMotta
Coaches – Denis Lynch II & Andre Peters
