New Gen rise to the top in Biche Village Cup

A new generation touched down at the Biche recreation ground last weekend, as the New Gen team won the Biche Village Cup football crown with an exciting penalty shootout victory over G-Madrid on May 16. 

The brainchild of Seed of Greatness - Biche Football Development School founder Denice Dedier, the two-week, hockey-post seven-a-side football competition saw as many as nine teams battling for bragging rights in the Biche community. Last year, G-Madrid had their time to shine when they copped Biche's Kings of the Court small-goal title with 2-0 win over Street Ballers. This year, though, G-Madrid were stopped in their tracks by a hungry New Gen outfit who took home the $2,500 top prize. 

New Gen players show off their winning trophy and cheque after lifting the Biche Village Cup on May 16. Photos courtesy T.Phillip Photography

New Gen got to the finale by hammering Ballers 5-0 in their semifinal, while G-Madrid had a much tougher road to the final as they edged Cushe Young Bloods 2-1. In the semis, it was Youth Player of the Tournament Darnell Walcott who stole the show for New Gen, as the Hillview College standout stunned Ballers with a hat-trick. Dijon Mootor and Emilio Thomas scored the other goals for New Gen in their emphatic semifinal display. In the other semi, Hakeem Byer and Roland Walcott scored in G-Madrid's win over Cushe. 

Seed of Greatness - Biche Football Development School founder Denice Dedier presents the Biche Village Cup Best Youth Player award to New Gen's Darnell Walcott. 

In the final, the Walcotts were back for more as both men scored as G-Madrid and New Gen traded punches in a game which ended 1-1 after 40 minutes of regulation time. Roland opened the scoring for G-Madrid, before Darnell found the crucial equalising item for New Gen. From the spot, Darnell and his teammates got the better of the tournament's best goalie Ashlie Harris to power New Gen to a 3-1 win on penalties as they walked away with bragging rights and the winner-take-all prize. 

For Dedier, tournaments such as these go beyond the fancy footwork or spectacular goals scored on the field, as it's all about building community engagement and togetherness. 

G-Madrid's Ashlie Harris (right) receives the Biche Village Cup Best Goalkeeper award. 

"The mission of Seed of Greatness - Biche Football Development School is always to bring (the) community together in a positive environment," Dedier told Ron's Sports Shorts. "This event's objectives (were) definitely met. Community members came together and the youths engaged in football in a safe and positive environment." 

The four semifinalists aside, the other teams to participate in the Biche Village Cup were: Airplane Mode - Mayaro; Holy Strikers; Simple Touch - Rio Claro; Street Ballers, and Youngstars. 

Next on the Biche calendar is the 2026 Kings of the Court small-goal tournament, which will kick off late next month. 

Gospel artiste Jaron Nurse poses with youngsters during his guest appearance at the 2025 Kings of the Court small-goal final in Biche in July 2025. 

Fatima, St Joseph's Convent PoS bag water polo hat-tricks

The students of Fatima College and St Joseph's Convent Port of Spain (SJCPoS) displayed their dominance when the Republic Bank Aquatic Sports Association of TT (ASATT) National Secondary Schools Water Polo League concluded on the weekend, as both splashed to a hat-trick of titles. 

When the action wrapped up at the National Aquatic Centre in Balmain, Couva, on March 8, both schools had won the respective under-14, under-16, and open trophies. On the previous weekend, the Form One titles went to Bishop Anstey High School PoS (BAHS) and Diego Martin Central, respectively. BAHS beat Diego Central to the girls' Form One crown, but the Diego Martin boys put things right when a seven-goal showing from Andriel Williams powered them to a tight 9-8 victory over Queen's Royal College in the boys' Form One finale. 

The girls from SJCPoS made their intentions clear when they drubbed BAHS 15-2 in the under-14 final to clinch their first of three titles. Romaya Pierre and Drew Thomas scored four goals apiece to lead the SJCPoS riot.  

In the under-16 final against Holy Name Convent, SJCPoS used a breathtaking second-half performance to romp to a 22-12 victory after leading 9-7 at the halfway stage. Shauna Murphy was instrumental in SJCPoS's run to the under-16 title, leading with seven goals, while Alexis Avey, Eliana Lee, and Abella Mollenthiel all scored four goals each. Melanie Valdez Brown fought admirably for Holy Name with a team-high seven goals. 

In the girls' open final, SJCPoS had another battle with BAHS. On this occasion, BAHS were up for the fight, but just fell on the wrong side of a 6-5 scoreline. BAHS led 4-1 at the halftime break thanks to a Mya Dos Santos double, but her team was held scoreless in the third quarter as SJCPoS jumped out to a 5-4 lead. In the final quarter, Lee netted her second goal of the game to ensure SJCPoS hoisted their third trophy on the day. 

Holy Name Convent Port of Spain's Amilya Marshall (R) lines up a shot against St Joseph's Convent Port of Spain in the under-16 final of the National Secondary Schools Water Polo League at the National Aquatic Centre, Couva, on March 8. Photos courtesy Sorias Media 

Fatima got their title-hunt started on March 7 when they clobbered St Mary's College 19-5 in the under-14 final. Liam Rogers and Jude Galt scored six and five goals, respectively, to lead the boys from Mucurapo Road to their first title. Fatima's "B" team, meanwhile, registered a fourth-placed finish in the under-14 division after losing a tight third-place playoff. 

None shall pass: Fatima College "B" team player Gabriel Joseph (R) looks for a passing option against St Mary's College in their under-16 bronze-medal matchup in the National Secondary Schools Water Polo League. 

 

In both the under-16 and open finals, Fatima overpowered the QRC outfit to complete their hat-trick. The under-16 final was a much closer affair than the open finale, and Fatima actually trailed the Royalians 6-7 at halftime. By the end of the third quarter, QRC still had the upper hand, leading 10-9. In the final quarter, though, Fatima hit the accelerator as both Logan Calder and Giovanni Felician-Moses scored three goals in the period to help their school to a 17-13 comeback victory. Felician-Moses scored a game-high six goals, with both Luke Gibson and Aaron Villafana netting five goals in the losing effort for QRC. 

The open final was much more straightforward for Fatima, who opened up a big 9-2 lead at the end of the first quarter, en route to a 19-9 victory. Jeremiah Henriques-Brown matched the opponents' tally with an impressive nine-goal performance, with Liam Chin Lee chipping in with five goals. Villafana scored a double for QRC, while Javier Jordan led the Royalians with five goals. Their efforts weren't nearly enough to stop Fatima from cruising to their third title to end a dominant weekend in the pool. 

Jubilant Fatima College players dive in the pool after copping one of their three titles at the National Secondary Schools Water Polo League at the National Aquatic Centre, Couva, on March 8.