SPORTS SECTION E
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2025
Alcaraz, Page 5
Kai Jones hosts his first ever 1 Up Cup By JONATHAN BURROWS
B
ahamian NBA player Kai Jones hosted his inaugural 1 Up Cup basketball tournament this past Saturday at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs Gymnasium, bringing together young talent from across the island nation. The one-day tournament followed a one-game elimination format featuring six teams. The rosters were set during a combine-style
WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
PROFILES
draft held Friday evening where players were evaluated on their skills before being selected. The format gave participants a chance to showcase their abilities while also promoting teamwork. “I’m so glad that everyone is getting an opportunity to play, God has blessed us to be able to come together and play like this and I’m so blessed to be able to give back and help,” said Kai. The inspiration for the 1 Up Cup came from a tournament participant Jaylen Fernander who was a camper at the Mirror Mirror programme held at A.F. Adderly Gymnasium in July where Kai served as a mentor to at-risk kids. “We were working at the gym, and Jaylen Fernander asked me if I could please come home and do something like this and we were talking about it and I was looking forward to doing something like this when I was ending the season,” said Kai. Jaylen Fernander would be named the player of the game for the first game of the tournament for team Skywalker in a win against team Tito, scoring 15 points with five steals. It would be team GOATs who would win the entire tournament, defeating team Infinity in the final round with a score of 62-47. The tournament’s most valuable player went to Damarion Ellis of team GOATs, and the defensive player of the tournament would go to Sidney Higgs also of team GOATs. With the success of the inaugural
BAHAMIAN NBA player Kai Jones, shown above, hosted his inaugural 1 Up Cup basketball tournament at the Kendal G.L. Issacs Gymnasium on Saturday, bringing together young talent from across the island nation. Photo: Jaheim Pennerman edition, Kai hopes to make
this tournament an annual
– PAGES 2 & 7
event to expand its reach
and impact.
SURFERS HOPING TO REDEEM THEMSELVES AT ISA WORLD GAMES IN EL SALVADOR By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net WITH their first races behind them, the Bahamian trio of Luke Prosa, Joey Gale and Lilli Wagner are hoping to get some redemption in their next races at the 2025 ISA World Surfing Games at the El Sunzal, Surf City, El Salvador over the weekend. Yesterday, in round one of the men’s competition,
Prosa was fourth in heat 42 in 3.27. The winning time was 13.34 by Hirato Ohhara from Japan, while Gale was also fourth in heat 38 in 12.16. Reo Inaba of Japan won in 12.27. In the women’s round one of heat 42 that was held on Saturday, the 27-yearold Wagner, in making her debut, was also fourth in 1.00. Yolanda Sequeira of Portugal took the heat in
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THE SPORTS CALENDAR
Over the next 5 days heading into the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, The Tribune’s Sports will be running a series of profiles, highlighting the 15-member team that will represent The Bahamas. The championships will run from September 13-21. The profile continues today with hurdler Devynne Charlton and long jumper/sprinter Anthaya Charlton ...
BASKETBALL BBSF TOURNEY THE Bahamas Baptist Sports Federation’s 2025 Basketball Tournament is scheduled for the weekend of September 26-27 at the CI Gibson Gymnasium for the 12-and under and open divisions. Each team will consist of 12 players. Trophies sponsored by AID will be distributed to the champions and
Sept
runners-up in each category as well as medals for the third-place teams. Interested persons can contact Sean Bastian at seanbasbastian@ gmail.com or call 8268535 or Brent Stubbs at stubbobs@gmail.com or call 426-7265 for more information. UPTOP ELITE THE Uptop Elite Basketball Club is scheduled
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