SPORTS SECTION E
Road To Rio
Olympics, Page 3
THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2016
Bahamas destroys Dominica 125-21 in CBC U-16 By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net WE may be running out of superlatives to describe just how dominant the Bahamas junior national team has been in overwhelming the competition at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation U16 Championships. The Bahamas scored a tournament high and delivered the most lopsided win of the event thus far with a 125-21 win over Dominica yesterday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in Georgetown, Guyana. Seven Team Bahamas players reached double figures and every member of the 12-man roster reached the scorebook as they moved to 3-0 in the tournament thus far.
Domnick Bridgewater led the team with a game high 20 points and nine steals, Chosen Levarity had 18 points and nine rebounds, Samuel Hunter scored 13, Derrico Burrows and Devonte Jennings each added 12 points, Alfredo Brown scored 10 and Christopher Johnson finished with a double double - 11 points and 12 rebounds. “This is a well balanced all around team. We are very strong in every area. We have shooters, dribblers and post players,” Johnson said before the team left for Guyana. “We have everything to bring back the gold.” Jennings also had a game high eight assists, while Michael Williams grabbed a game high 14 rebounds. Michael Cartwright also finished with six points and seven rebounds.
“All we have to do is play hard,” Jennings said. “We need to go out there and execute.” The Bahamas scored on the opening tip and followed with easy baskets on their first four possessions. Hunter’s fastbreak dunk made it 8-0 in just 1:10 of gametime. Dominica made a free throw to stop the run, but the Bahamas scored another six points before Dominica made its first field goal of the game nearly six minutes in. The Bahamas led 34-8 at the end of the first quarter and led 6111 at the half. They opened the third on an 18-0 run before Dominica finally reached the scoreboard out of the intermission. The Bahamas took a 93-17 lead into the fourth quarter en route to eventually finishing with a tour-
nament high 125. Defensively, the Bahamas forced 58 turnovers, 52 of which were steals. They also limited Dominica to just 12 per cent shooting from the field and zero fast break points. As the final score would indicate the Bahamas held a staggering edge statistically. They scored 98 points in the paint, 40 fastbreak points, and 66 points off the bench. They also won the rebounding battle 66-33, and dished 25 assists. The Bahamas shot 49 per cent from the field and 33 per cent from long range, but again struggled at the free throw line at just 58 per cent. It was the third consecutive game they reached the 100-point barrier after a 109-71 win over Antigua and Barbuda followed by
a 101-40 win over the British Virgin Islands. The Bahamas will look to complete group play undefeated when they face Barbados today at 3:30pm. The reclassification medal round begins on Friday. The Bahamas is among a group of 10 teams for the boys’ championship. Group A includes the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and Dominica. Group B includes Aruba, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and the hosts Guyana. The top three teams, both men and women, earn berths to the Centro Basket Under-17 Championship where they compete for spots in the FIBA Americas U-18 Cup, from which they can qualify for the FIBA U19 World Cup or the Youth Olympics.
NATIONAL BEACH SOCCER TEAM TO TAKE ITS TRAINING REGIMEN TO NEXT LEVEL By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas men’s national team is set to take their training regimen to the next level as they continue preparation for the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. The side will leave for Switzerland on July 11 and will travel throughout Europe for a six-week training camp. Team captain Gavin Christie said the team intends to take full advantage of the opportunity to improve their skills across the board as they prepare for the biggest tournament in the country’s history. “It’s a huge opportunity. We will be playing at the highest level for six weeks - playing on the professional beach soccer circuit, playing against top teams with top coaches. It will be the life of a professional. We expect to eat, sleep, drink and eat beach soccer and it t will help us get to the next level with more games and more training at a very high level,” he said. Heimanu “Manu” Taiarui, the No. 1 beach soccer player in the world, now serves as a coach for the Bahamas men’s national beach soccer team in their World Cup Preparation. Christie, who has served as team captain for the past five years, said he has seen the level of the team grow recently with the infusion of a new coaching regime and he expects that trend to continue in Europe. “In order for us to get to that next level we have to train and compete at the next level. In the little but of time we have had top coaches here we have seen the level of play raise a bit, so we imagine that when we go to training camp it will
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OFFICIAL RESULTS OF 63RD ANNUAL NATIONAL FAMILY ISLAND REGATTA IN GEORGETOWN, EXUMA
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REGATTA TIME AGAIN: Minister Alfred Gray makes a presentation to the Cat Island Regatta to be held in New Bight July 29 to August 1. Shown (l-r) are Cephas Cooper, Minister Gray, Pat Strachan, Macian Mortimer and Stafford Ambrister.
Upcoming regattas get a boost By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net pair of regattas received a boost to their fundraising and preparation efforts courtesy of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Minister V Alfred Gray made contributions to both the Cat Island and Grand Bahama Regattas slated for this summer. The Cat Island Regatta, hosted July 29-August 1 in New Bight, Cat Island, will receive $35,000 while the Grand Bahama Regatta, hosted July 22-24 on Taino Beach, Grand Bahama will receive $28,000. “It is important for you to know you have the government’s support,” Minister Gray said. “The Prime Minister has increased the budget this year from $750,000 to $1 million. It may seem as a small increase but $250,000 increase in any one year in my view is a lot to say ‘thank you’ for. I continue to think that we are going to up the ante if the need arises if only minimally and I will never leave you in a position that was worse than last year, it will always be better.” Mr Gray said he hopes other regattas will follow suit by honouring and remembering contributors who have propelled the sport of sloop sailing. The Diamond Jubilee Anniversary of the Cat Island Regatta will honour Godfrey Kelly, an avid sailor who co-founded the Regatta 60 years ago. “Having once served as a Member of Parliament for Cat Island,
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MINISTER Alfred Gray makes a presentation to the Grand Bahama Homecoming and Regatta to be held in Taino Beach, July 22-24. Shown (l-r) are Cephas Cooper, Minister Gray, Chervita Campbell, Derek Moxey and Cindy Gay. Mr Kelly is recognised for his contribution to the development of the sport of sloop sailing, the continuity of this Bahamian tradition and the preservation of this unique characterisation of our culture,” he said. “He is a legend in his own right and I am pleased you choose to honour him in this way. His is a name that is recognized internationally and it does speak to the importance of these regattas in another way.” The 21st edition of the Grand Bahama Regatta will honour Walton Rolle, a long standing regatta committee member. “[He] actively served until 2015 freely rendering his time and resources to the building up of the Regatta Committee and his community. Today he must be commended as he continues to render service and advice when called upon,” he said. “Regattas have become so important to the economic landscape that there is
no island in the Bahamas where there economy on that island has not been touched by a regatta. I have spoken to people that say to me that they make more money during the three or four days during the island’s regatta than they make all yea long. That speaks to why these events are so important.” Cat Island Sailing Club President Pat Strachan said his organisation looks forward to positive impact and benefitting the local community. “This regatta injects some $1.5 million into the Cat Island economy over a four day period so this is an economic boost that the people look forward to. We go to fellowship but more important is the economic boost,” he said. “In addition, the Cat Island Sailing Club we have awarded 10 scholarships to deserving students. We are not only going to host a regatta, we are going to give back to the com-
munity. Wee tend to continue the scholarship programme this year once we make a profit and those students are attending BTVI.” According to race coordinator Stafford Armbrister, sloops expected to compete include A Class - Who Dat, Red Stripe, Good News, Southern Cross and Ed Sky. The B Class will include Cobra, Eudeva, Susan Chase, Heathcliff, Ant’s Nest, and the C Class includes Jacobs Ladder, Whitty K, Dream Girl, Sacrifice and Catch The Cat Grand Bahama Regatta Committee Chairperson Chevita Campbell said ‘Sail Home-Catch the Wind” is fitting to represent the culture of togetherness the homecoming and regatta will bring to descendants of Grand Bahama. “The challenge is here for sure, but this year, we will be going to a great extent to involve the people of Grand Bahama and present an event that will be attractive to others. We will be going all out despite the planning obstacles we will face. One of the ways we will be adding excitement to the event will be by honoring stalwarts of the past. Recognising them will be significant,” she said. “We want you to come on the beach, catch all the breeze that Taino Beach has to offer. We will have a good grand time celebrating.” The Grand Bahama event will feature live performances from D-Mac, Veronica Bishop and Julien Believe. According to race coordinator Derek Moxey, with a C Class fleet there will be 15-20 sloops from throughout the islands.
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