Smith's Wildcats 80

St. George's International 66

Smith's captain Steven Simons was named the 2010 Cellular PBL finals MVP after his 22-point performance ensured his side ended the season unbeaten and champions with their 80-66 win over St. George's International at CedarBridge gym on Saturday night.

The Wildcats defeated all those put before them in the regular season and it was no different in the final as St. George's went down in the championship game for the second consecutive year after winning back-to-back titles.

"We thought about going undefeated at the beginning of the season, it was one of our goals and it feels great to get the job done," said Simons. "We are the only team to do it, so it feels good.

"We had a plan from the beginning to put some intense defence on them and for the first five minutes we were trading baskets before we went on our run to break it open a bit. Every time they made a run we made a defensive stop or hit a basket to halt them getting back into the match."

Despite trailing St. George's in the early minutes, Smith's pressure defensively created a series of turnovers that sparked an 8-0 run led by regular season MVP Ryan Rabain.

With an 18-13 lead in early half, Smith's continued to attack the rim, scoring at the basket with ease.

St. George's' guard Junior Warner entered the game and quickly hit back-to-back shots to slow Smith's momentum and pull his side within six points with eight minutes remaining in the half.

However, ignited by back-to-back jump shots by Simons, the Wildcats pushed their lead to 12 points with three minutes remaining. St. George's leading scorers, Charjuan Knight and Damon Saunders, struggled from the field and Smith's ended the first half on a 6-2 run to take a 42-27 lead.

In the second half, St. George's finally found their shooting touch and started the half on a 10-4 run to cut Smith's lead to nine.

And as Smith's coach Roderick Spencer encouraged his team from the sidelines to keep up the defensive pressure, Simons scored four transition points from turnovers to once again give his team a double-digit lead.

A three-point jump shot from brother Jason Simons with 13 minutes remaining pushed Smith's lead to 56-42. Steven Simons scored five of his game-high 22 points in 40 seconds to extend his team lead to 15.

In thrilling fashion, St. George's player Damon Saunders delivered back to back dunks to silence the crowds' cheers. However, a three-pointer by Seward Smith put Smith's on top 73- 56.

Sensing that victory was near, Simons put the dagger on any St. George's comeback with an acrobatic lay-up at the rim with two minutes remaining.

"We will keep the same team as this year and try to repeat and take one game at a time," added Simons. "We know we have the bulls-eye on our backs and hopefully everyone will come back next summer and we will get the job done."

Saunders was the leading scorer for St. George's with 22 points.