If there was any doubt, it’s surely gone now.
These Cougars are for real.
Their first test of the season looked more like a mock exam after Adrian Stewart led five players in double digits with 34 points to help basketball’s Premier League leaders remain unbeaten after Sunday’s 86-76 win over Smalta Pinelands at the Barbados Community College.
It was the sixth win in succession for Cougars, who faced doubts over the validity of their status as true title contenders after supposedly picking on the league minnows.
But those question marks turned into one big exclamation point after the men from Hothersal hung their fifth successive score of more than 80 points on a star laden team bolstered by the recent addition of Jeremy Gill.
He had to take a back seat to Stewart on this night, with the 42-year-old veteran dropping 13 off his game high tally in the fourth quarter to thwart any hopes of a late game Pine comeback.
It seemed like every time Pinelands threatened to muster a rally, Stewart was there to put it out, either by knocking down huge jumpers or scoring crucial baskets in transition.
This was after Cougars romped to as much as a 14-point lead (53-39) before Pinelands pulled back within seven (58-51) by way of a brief surge sparked first by Corey McDonald and then by Gill.
However, Stewart put a quick end to the run with a clutch triple before finding Ricardo Jemmott in the open floor for a monster one-handed throw-down (63-51).
But Stewart went one better on a near impossible turnaround jumper over Gill prior to adding a pair of free throws and another lay-up for good measure.
It wasn’t for want of help either, as Sean Gaskin put the clamps on Charles Vanderpool while holding the star forward scoreless until midway through the fourth quarter.
Pinelands also had no answer for Jemmott whenever he put the ball on the floor, while Gaskin and Godfrey Leacock put a decisive cap on the game with nine points down the stretch of the fourth.
It proved the perfect all-round team performance for a side ready to confirm its championship mettle against a fellow title contender in a game that had a distinct play-off atmosphere.
However, Cougars got off to the worst start possible, quickly falling behind 4-14 following Gill’s early three point onslaught and a 15-minute delay caused by damage to one of the backboards.
Stewart responded with seven straight points, before Cougars blew open the contest via a 25-9 second-quarter run that put them ahead 40-29. Pinelands then fell further behind in the ensuing third after failing to get anything from Vanderpool in the paint, while Cougars forced the issue in transition.
Jemmott finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, Gaskin scored 12, while Leacock and Stevenson Callender added 11 and ten points, respectively. For Pinelands, who dropped to a 2-2 record, Gill had 30 points, while McDonald scored 16.
Earlier, reigning MVP Akeem Marsh went a perfect nine of nine from the field for 20 points to lead Urban Vybz St John’s Sonics to a 91-62 rout of Co-operators General Insurance Tridents.
Rommel Garnes scored 14 points, while Dwayne Kellman had ten and 15 boards for Sonics (4-1). Kelan Phillips led the winless schoolboys (0-6) with 17 points.
