SPORTS SECTION E
TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2025
2025 CARIFTA GAMES @ HASELY CRAWFORD STADIUM
Team Bahamas has a spectacular showing
VALDEZ ‘VJ’ EDGECOMBE DECIDES TO DECLARE FOR 2025 NBA DRAFT By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
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ORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad — Team Bahamas had a spectacular showing to close out the final day of competition at the 52nd CARIFTA Games. It will be an Easter Monday to remember at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Trinidad & Tobago. There were so many thrilling moments to reflect on. A junior national record and another gold medal for Annae Mackey. A sprint double from Eagan Neely in the under17 boys as he clinched the
GOLDEN MOMENT: The Bahamian team of Makaiah Hitchman, Emmanuel Adams, Jamiah Nabbie and Zion Miller celebrate their mixed 4 x 400m victory.
VALCOURT CHARLTON, IN ACTION
200m to his stunning run in the 400. A pair of gold medals as well from Jahcario Wilson in the under-17 boys’ 110m hurdles to add to his 400m hurdles title. Don’t forget the games’ record-breaking run from the under-17 boys’ 4 x 400m to gold with the gold from the under-20 boys’ relay team to put the icing on the cake. Including them in the package that the 78-member team produced over the three days of competition over the Easter holiday weekend resulted in the Bahamas’ best showing in quite some time. A total of 29 medals, inclusive of 13 gold, 11 silver and five bronze, gave The Bahamas one of its greatest showings in quite a while. Jamaica, however,
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TEAM EFFORT: Bahamas under-20 girls’ 4 x 400 metre relay team of A’Karee Roberts, Makaiah Hitchman, Kei-Mahri Hanna and Darvinique Dean.
SENSATIONAL guard Valdez ‘VJ’ Edgecombe, having just completed his freshman year with the Baylor Bears, has announced that “after many heartfelt talks with my family and coaches,” he has decided to “make the decision to declare for the 2025 NBA Draft.” Back on home soil in Bimini over the weekend surrounded by his family and friends, Edgecombe made the announcement. He is now projected to be a top five selection, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS when the draft takes place on Wednesday, June 25, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. “First and foremost, I want to thank God for allowing me to play the game I love and allowing me to be in the position that I am in today,” Edgecombe said. “From a young age, it was always my dream to play for a school that felt like home and embraced me like family. I was blessed to find that at Baylor.” Edgecombe is ranked as the No. 4 prospect on ESPN’s Best Available list, just below Duke’s Cooper Flagg and the Rutgers duo of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. The Athletics’ Sam Vecenie has Edgecombe going off the board with the No. 3 pick ahead of Bailey in his latest mock draft. Edgecombe, 19, plays with a high motor and defends, which makes the 6’5” wing a safe pick despite his rollercoaster offensive season, according
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FORWARD RHEMA COLLINS HEADING TO FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net AFTER spending the past two seasons as a member of the Lady Rebels women’s basketball team under the tutelage of Bahamian head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), Bahamian forward Rhema Collins has decided to move on
to Florida International University. Collins, 20, entered the National Basketball Athletic Association (NCAA) transfer portal, which allows student-athletes to seek a new team to participate on or for them to remain where they are. “I decided to enter because I was looking for a change and a place that will continue to allow me to grow as a student and
THE SPORTS April CALENDAR PEACE ON DA STREET FAMILY NIGHT PLANS are underway for the staging of the Peace on Da Streets’ Basketball Classics’ Road to 30 years of existence. The event, being organised by the Hope Center under the
theme “Shooting hoops instead of guns,” will be held from July 14-19 at the Michael ‘Scooter’ Reid Basketball Center. The highlight of the event will be the Family Night, scheduled for Sunday, July 20 at the
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RHEMA COLLINS player,” said Collins who, after suffering an injury during her freshman season, played sparingly this past season. Despite moving on, Collins said she enjoyed her tenure as a Running Rebel. “I had a lot of fun at Ole Miss. I learned a lot of things like leadership and having good character,” she stated. “I’m also thankful for the community and the people there that has supported me since I got there.” As she moves on, Collins said FIU fits right into her
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