by BARRY ALLEYNE in Jamaica

IT WASN'T SCRIPTED to end like this. Three months ago, praises were sung after Barbados finished an improbable fifth in the men's basketball tournament of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia.

But on Thursday night that seemed like a wasted affair, as the Bajans succumbed, 70-66, to archrivals Jamaica in a physical, rough-and-tumble affair here, at the National Indoor Sports Centre.

Now, the deflated Barbados squad will have to settle for the fifth or sixth spot at the 18th Caricom Basketball Championships, finishing the preliminary action with a 2-2 record.

The frown on the face of debutant head coach Dwight Rouse spoke volumes Thursday night.

"I'm very, very disappointed with our performance," Rouse told the SATURDAY SUN after the match. "Jamaica came out very aggressive, and we simply never matched their intensity. We didn't play badly, but we didn't play to our true potential either."

What an understatement!

Of the "big boys" at this tournament, the only player to step up, and not unexpectedly so, was two-time Caribbean Most Valuable Player, Andrew Alleyne.

Guards Michael Nurse and Jeremy Gill, expected to be explosive devices with their skill and shooting prowess, were duds. And big men Pearson Griffith and Deane Browne hurt themselves with poor defence.

Barbados came into the tournament as runners-up from the 2004 championship in Cuba, and also as the highest rated team from the English-speaking Caribbean.

They will leave it as also-rans. What Thursday night's game also proved, is that lightning doesn't strike a basketball court twice.

Two years ago in Cuba, Barbados trailed this same Jamaica squad by seven points with four minutes remaining, and won.

But this time, Jamaica held their poise down the stretch and moved to a semi-final match-up against defending champions, Cuba.

Barbados never led in the match, and virtually lost the contest due to their ineptitude on offence. They were solid defensively, but missed numerous wide-open shots, their Achilles heel in this tournament.

Nurse, the team's best shooter, scored on a three-pointer in the first six seconds of the match, then couldn't find the sea from in a boat.

Alleyne's strong play inside kept Barbados in the match and he played all 40 minutes, as Griffith and Browne fell into foul trouble, as usual.

But things started to go wrong in the final 36 seconds of the first quarter. With the scores tied 12-12, Jamaica forward Michael Kennedy swished two three-pointers to give the home team their first real advantage. It was a six-point lead that would later prove to be rather precious.

A strong zone defence saw Barbados reduce a ten-point lead in the second quarter, and at half-time, they only trailed 36-33. That was the closest they would get.

With Alleyne toiling inside, and Gill finding a rhythm for the first time all week, Barbados were always close, but never tasted the cigar.

"We just didn't get it done," Rouse added. "We missed a couple of easy baskets when we were right back in the game, and that hurt us. We were in the exact same position as 2004, but this time it was Jamaica who prevailed."

Alleyne finished with 23 points and six rebounds. Gill added 13, and Nurse 11, six of which came when the result was a formality.

Now, in a complete role reversal, it will be the men's team that will take on the role of supporters tonight, when the national women's squad play the United States Virgin Islands in their final preliminary match.