After the disappointment of last season, Manchester Spurs set the record straight when they dispatched defending champions Kingston Hummingbirds 72-47 in the final of the Red Stripe Flavours Netball Jamaica Elite League final at the National Indoor Sport Centre on Sunday.Spurs suffered a fourth-quarter meltdown in last season’s decider, after dominating the season and the first three quarters of the final.However, the Dalton Hinds-coached team made no mistakes on Sunday against the same opponents, to claim the title.“I wouldn’t say we were wrong last season. One team had to win and we ended up on the losing side, having not lost in the preliminary round.“So it wasn’t about focusing on what happened last year. What happened is done. It was about ensuring that we came out this year and made every effort to win the championship, and we did that and are extremely happy champions,” he said.Nevertheless, he believes that with the dominant season they’ve had, they deserved to be crowned champions.“I would say we are deserved winners. Well done to Kingston Hummingbirds, but the work ethic of the team members of Manchester Spurs made us champions.“It was a total team effort. The sacrifice the ladies made to be at training and the intensity that they play at. I am extremely satisfied,” he added.After close going in the first quarter, Spurs held out to take a 17-14 lead.Manchester stepped up the pace in the second period, despite a valiant effort from the Hummingbirds, and stretched their lead to 13 (37-24) at half- time.In the third quarter, the Spurs got even better, with the Hummingbirds starting to struggle to keep up. At the end of the period they had extended their advantage to 21 (56-35), to go into the final period.The champions did not let up in the final quarter. Though the Hummingbirds responded with grit, the eventual champions pulled even further away to win by 25.“Tough loss for us,” commented Hummingbirds coach Kerry-Ann Brown. “We lost two of our players going into the final because of personal reasons. Two of our most important players.“We lost Amanda Thompson and Khadija Williams. Khadijah is one of Jamaica’s best wing attacks. She was one of our key players in the mid-court. Losing her hit us hard.“With her, we would have been in it all the way and possibly win the game. So losing them was hard, but kudos to my team, we came out and really played hard. But somewhere along the line in the third quarter, we started losing it. We started to rush things. We started forcing the ball to our shooters, and from there we started going down. Manchester Spurs really wanted it and they came out and got it,” she said.In the awards presentation afterwards, Spurs’ Kimone Shaw was named MVP, and her teammate Mone Wilmot, the most accurate shooter.Hummingbirds’ Tracy-Ann Francis was the top goal scorer. St Ann Orchids’ Theresa Beckford was the best defensive player, and Crystal Plummer, the best centre court player. Zonasha Hinds received the Flavour Spirit Award.All the awardees received $15,000 and a gift basket.Third-placed St Ann Orchids took home $100,000, second-placed Hummingbirds received $200,000, while champions Spurs walked away with $350,000 and the championship trophy.livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com