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Jamaica Basketball League (JBL) winning coach Oneil Brown credits the experience of his Urban Knights charges for their success in the four-month-long competition, and believes their knowledge also helped them to outlast Upper Room Eagles in the recent best-of-three finals.

According to Brown, Urban Knights' players have been acquainted with each other for some time, which assisted them in winning the last match of the finals after they had taken a 1-0 lead by winning the first, with Upper Room Eagles taking the second to control the momentum.

"Upper Room Eagles were our main challengers this season. In the mid-season finale, we defeated them by four points and came out 2-1 winners in the best-of-three league finals," said Brown.

"In the first game, we beat them by four points, but they beat us by 16 points to tie the series at 1-1, but going into the final game, my players were not nervous as they are an experienced bunch, and they came out winners by two points.

"Most of the players on my team have been playing for years for teams that I have coached at Camperdown High School, who have won several under-16 and under-19 titles, and The Mico University College, who this year won the Intercol Division One competition.

"Despite Omar Barnes being the only player on the team to play in a JBL final before, the other guys have all been on teams before in finals, so I knew they would have delivered if it came down to crunch time," said Brown.

He praised Upper Room Eagles for being worthy opponents.

"I must congratulate the coaching staff and players of Upper Room Eagles for their excellent performances all season, who kept my players on their toes," he said.

According to Brown, with the change in the league's format, which makes the season longer, Urban Knights will be doing the necessary work to help them defend their title successfully.

"Knowing that the competition will now be played over four months next year, we will start our preparation much earlier, and we will be much more prepared," cited Brown, a national coach who works with the women's programme.

Brown, who has also won numerous titles with Holy Childhood High School, started national duties in 2014 with the late Simone Edwards.

"in 2014, in my first taste of national duties. I won the CBC tournament, and, since, I have gained a wealth of knowledge and experience, which has helped me to be a coach to be reckoned with," he said.