SPORTS SECTION E
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Rams host primary school clinic
By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
BEFORE they got started in the 2025 Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament, the Colorado State University Rams men’s basketball team shared some time with some of the country’s future basketball players. A one-day clinic was held yesterday at the TG Glover Primary School where students from the school as well as Judith P. Thompson Primary School participated. The clinic was designed to inspire the next generation of young athletes by providing them with hands-on basketball instruction, encouragement and a memorable chance to learn directly from the college players. While the students were in awe to see the height of the towering players as they stepped off the buses, the visiting players were just thrilled to be able to interact with the enthusiastic youngsters. Guard Jevin Muniz, a 6-foot, 6-inch senior, said although it's his first trip here, he has enjoyed every moment of it so far, especially the weather and the atmosphere at the Atlantis resort. "We do a lot of clinics where we're from, but to come out here and to show them what we can do means a lot to us as players and our programme," he said. Having watched the tournament in the past few years on television, Muniz said he's just thrilled to be here with his team-mates, who all seemed to have been enjoying themselves as they interacted with the local players. "We're all focused, trying to do whatever we have to do to win," he said. "We just have to stay locked in. It's a really nice place to play, but we know what our main goal is." Chris Howell, director of player development,
comes to The Bahamas for his second stint after he moved from Marquette as an assistant coach to Colorado State as the director of player development. With a little more responsibility this time around, Howell said he loves it. "It's just fun to see the kids growing up," he said. "But being on the beach is obviously the most fun, but playing in the Battle 4 Atlantis is what everybody dreams of in the United States. So we are really enjoying it." The Rams, coached by Ali Farokhmanesh, arrived here with a 40-1 win-loss record and will play their first game at 5pm on Wednesday against Virginia Tech. But when the tournament ends on Black Friday, November 28, Howell said he expects the Rams to be carrying the title back to Colorado State. "Our offence is well put together, but when we play well on defence, it's hard to beat us," he stated. "So we're just hoping that we can put our defence together just as we know we will do offensively." Local basketball standout Michael 'Ferley' Bain, one of the representatives for Atlantis at the clinic, said he's rooting for the Rams to win it all. "I expect for them to come out on top and to leave here with the winning trophy," said Bain,
THE Colorado State University Rams men’s basketball team with some of the country’s future basketball players during the one-day clinic yesterday at TG Glover Primary School. who has hoisted a number of trophies himself as a member of the Commonwealth Bank Giants in the NPBA. "But I know it's going to be very competitive. There's a lot of great men's division one schools here with programs that have been doing extremely well. So it's going to be a tough tournament." On behalf of Atlantis, Bain thanked Colorado State for coming out and giving back to the local community. He said it was a good way for both entities to partner together. "The kids are really enjoying themselves and having a lot of fun," he insisted. "I've learnt some fundamentals of the game of basketball at the same time because it's never too old or too young to learn."
Two of the primary school players expressed their thoughts on having the experience with the collegiate players. Kevonique Deveaux, a 12-year-old sixth grader from Judith P. Thompson Primary School, said as a player on their team, she thought they were going to play in a tournament, but they were even more pleased to get to work out with the college players. "They taught us how to shoot the ball in the hoop and then we had to run a couple of drills from one white line to the next. We also have to dribble the ball." If there was one that amazed Deveauxx and her female friends, it was the fact that the players were "so tall."
And Franton Colebrooke, a 10-year-old fifth grader at TG Glover, said they got to play basketball and he loved it because it's his favorite sport. "The players are good. They are tall too. They could just stand up and touch the rim," Deveaux said. "But they taught us how to dribble and shoot the ball at the rim." Brad Wood Jr, one of the physical education teachers at TG Glover, said it was good to have the Rams show up because their presence will help to prepare his team for the local primary school basketball tournament. "I think this gave the kids a great incentive on what they could be and what they could aspire to," he insisted. "I love it. THese
young guys adapted so well to the young players. "The kids are loving it, the players seem to be enjoying themselves and the noise speaks for itself. But the children are very focused on what the players are teaching, so that is what has impressed me the most." And Rashad Cunnibgham, the head of the physical education department at the Judith P. Thompson Primary School, formerly Centreville Primary, said the experience will have a long lasting impact on the students. "The inner city-ghetto kids, as they are called, don't always get opportunities like this, so to have this one to see college players who do this for a living is going to impact them for the rest of their lives. "I'm very grateful to the team that organized this and to the children and the principal of TG Glover for allowing us to come and be a part of this." Before they left, members of the Rams signed autographs on Battle 4 Atlantis t-shirts that the young participants received, along with some refreshments, all courtesy of Atlantis. Atlantis, Colorado State and both TG Glover and Judith P. Thompson Primary Schools all went away happy.
Giants girls and Shockers boys to defend basketball titles By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net THE Xavier's Lower School Giants girls and St Francis/Joseph Shockers boys will be back to defend their respective titles when the Catholic Diocesan Primary Schools' best-of-three championship series gets started on Friday. Last Friday at Loyola Hall on Gladstone Road when the sudden death playoffs took place, Xavier's
Lower School booked their ticket to the girls' final with a 28-0 win over St Thomas More Sparks. They will meet St Francis/Joseph, who shocked St Cecilia's Strikers 22-9. On the boys' side, St Francis/Joseph doubled up Xavier's Lower School 20-10 to clinch their berth into the final. They will defend their title against St Thomas More, who nipped St Cecilia's 15-14. The losers in both divisions will play for third
place on Friday when the action gets started at 4pm at Loyola Hall before the championship games are played. Giants 28, Sparks 0 D'Antia Rose exploded for a game high 15 points and J'Lynn Bain had six for Xavier's Lower School in their win. Payton McKenzie helped out with four and Kaelin Hudson had two. "I expected the shutout, but I actually thought we would have scored more points," said Xaiver's coach
Raygail Smith. "Our girls played awful in the first three quarters. They didn't execute any plays, a lot of turnovers. "Maybe they were a little too afraid today or they were just too cocky. But you can't be cocky like this. I've been in a situation like this where we were 6-0 and we lost to a 0-6 team in the playoffs and didn't go to the championship. We can't take any team for granted." The Giants got started with a 9-0 run in the first
quarter, then took it to 12-0 at the half. They only had two in the third, but it turned up with their defence in the fourth with 14 more. Smith said she would like to go through the season undefeated for the first time, so they are going for all of the marbles in the championship. She wants to win it in two straight. "We lost two games last season, the first game of the season and our first game in the championship," she recalled. "But we
hope to be undefeated this year for the first time." • Games on tap for Friday at Loyola Hall, starting at 4pm: Girls third-fourth place - St Cecilia's vs St Thomas More. Girls championship - St Francis/Joseph vs Xavier's Lower School. Boys third place - Xavier's Lower School vs St Cecilia's. Boys championship - St Franci/Joseph vs St Thomas More.
Battle 4 Atlantis ladies: Penn State closes out final day with 83-67 win over San Diego State By JONATHAN BURROWS Tribune Sports Reporter jburrows@tribunemedia.net PENN State closed out the final day of the 2025 Battle 4 Atlantis women’s tournament with an 83-67 win over San Diego State yesterday at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island. The Lady Lions finished the tournament on a strong note, improving to 5-1 on the season, while the Aztecs fell to 4-3. The opening quarter was competitive, with Penn State holding a narrow 22-21 lead. But the game shifted sharply in the second period, where the
Lady Lions delivered a dominant 21-7 run. That surge established a comfortable halftime advantage that Penn State carried the rest of the way. Penn State shot just under 49 per cent from the field, compared to San Diego State’s 40 per cent. The Lady Lions also controlled the boards with a decisive 45–32 rebounding advantage, repeatedly creating second-chance opportunities thanks to centre Gracie Merkle. Turnovers were high on both sides - 16 for Penn State and 18 for SDSU but Penn State’s efficiency allowed them to stay comfortably ahead.
Coming off a 39-point and seven rebound performance in the loss against Princeton, Merkle, the 6’6 junior, led all scorers with 26 points on 12-of-15 shooting while adding eight rebounds, giving Penn State a steady interior presence throughout the game. San Diego State’s Nat Martinez kept her team competitive with 24 points, going 7-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the line, but the Aztecs struggled to generate consistent scoring behind her. San Diego State made a late push in the fourth quarter, scoring 19 points, yet the hole created by their second-quarter drought
proved too deep to climb out of. Penn State maintained control with disciplined defence, steady rebounding and a balanced shot selection. Penn State leaves Paradise Island with momentum after a convincing finalday performance, while San Diego State will look to regroup after the decisive mid-game swing that shaped the result. The men’s tournament is slated to begin on November 26 and features Colorado State, Saint Mary's, South Florida, Vanderbilt, VCU, Virginia Tech, Western Kentucky, and Wichita State.