Jamaica’s Johnson top Centro basketball scoring

Jamaica’s London Johnson topped the scoring in the 2021 FIBA U-17 CentroBasket Championship that ended in Mexicali, Mexico on Sunday and was also included in the all-tournament team.

The 6′ 4” Georgia, USA-based point guard finished the five days tournament as the top scorer with an average of 36-points per contest, scoring 40 points in Jamaica’s first two games, a loss to hosts Mexico and a win over El Salvador in Group B first round action.

He also scored 37 points in a loss to the Dominican Republic, 29 points and nine rebounds in a win over Aruba and 34 points against Panama on Sunday.

The high school player, who has caught the eye of several top colleges in the USA, also shot 56 per cent from the field in five games and 87 per cent from the free throw line, averaging 14 free throw attempts per contest, as he led Jamaica to sixth place in the tournament.

Edir Ortiz, who led Puerto Rico to the title, beating former champions Mexico 81-79 in overtime in the final played Sunday, was named Most Valuable Player while the Mexican pair of Santiago Camacho and Victor Valdez, and Edwin Daniel of the Dominican Republic, were also named to the all-tournament team.

Jamaica finished third in Group B, winning one of three games, then beat Caribbean neighbour Aruba in the first Classification game on Saturday before losing to Panama on Sunday in the game for fifth and sixth places.

by Paul Reid (Jamaica Observer)