Bull Bay looking to build on DAJL success East St Andrew team beat Mechanical Strikers to retain Premier League title

Bull Bay United put to bed any thought that they were lucky to win the Domino Administrators of Jamaica Limited (DAJL) Premier League title in 2025.

For a second year running, the East St Andrew outfit wrapped up the crown, this time securing a 220-204 win over Mechanical Strikers at Cookies Night Club, in Portmore, on Sunday.

“We are one of the better teams on the island. This win here proves it,” proclaimed Michael Morgan, president of Bull Bay United. “Everybody thought it (first win) was a fluke. So definitely this is not a fluke.

“We pulled it off as expected. It wasn’t an easy game. The lead changed couple times well, so it wasn’t a runaway victory,” he continued.

“It was closely contested for three quarters of the match. They proved themselves worthy opponents, but once again we got the job,” said Morgan.

Bull Bay’s president noted that they have no intention of letting go of their title soon.

“We look forward to next year again. I have to lift my hat to Mechanical for a hard fight. We thank DAJL for a well-run competition, and we look forward to making it three straight,” he said.

Little surprises

Mechanical Strikers’ team captain Dwight McKoy said Bull Bay sprung a surprise that took them totally off guard.

“The Bull Bay team was just a better team on the day. They had some little surprises, and we didn’t plan for everything. We planned for most things, but they took us by surprise with one move, and it changed the match for them,” McKoy admitted. “From that point we never recovered.

“But it was a good game, and domino won on the day,” he added.

Zandra Lewin, the DAJL president, said it was a good season for the league and knockout competitions, which were reorganised two years ago.

This year they had six teams. In the Premier League, the teams played each other twice, and the team with the most points at the end of the preliminaries topped the zone.

The second- and third-place teams had a semifinal playoff to meet the top team in the final.

“It was an exciting game, very close. Both teams were neck and neck, but for most of the game it was a one- to five-point lead. It never got bigger than that throughout the game,” said Lewin.

“We had a lot of supporters, spectators and friends coming to support the teams every Sunday.”

Female MVPs were Bull Bay’s Claudia Mitchell and Javell Richardson, a mother and daughter pairing. Alwin Dawes and Tyrine Grier, also of Bull Bay, were MVPs for the Premier League.

At the end of each match, the female with the best aggregate was awarded a cash prize on a weekly basis, and the mother and daughter duo came out on top most weeks.

“They played a brilliant game in the final, so they are deserving of this award. We have highlighted our females who have done well. We also award the female of the tournament, from Bull Bay, and the MVP of the tournament,” Lewin pointed out. “We want to encourage females into domino, we want to introduce them to it and give them a space.

An All-Star team will be selected from the Premier League for a tour of New York in November.