SPORTS SECTION E
NBA
Playoffs, Pg 5
TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2017
‘We had a tremendous 10 days’ of beach soccer By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
A
fter the final whistle was blown to crown Brazil as champions and all of the awards handed out, Bahamas Football Association president Anton Sealey breathed a sigh of relief. The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 was in the books. It came to a successful conclusion on Sunday night in the newly constructed beach soccer stadium at Malcolm Park. “I thought we had a tremendous 10 days of exciting competition,” said Sealey in
the aftermath of the tournament. “The final was not as close as we would have liked to see. “But there was still some good football played. Brazil was and is the class of the tournament. They displayed an excellent brand of beach soccer. For those Bahamians who never saw the game before, it couldn’t be introduced to a higher level of competition. So I hope they appreciate what they saw.” In the end, it was Brazil putting the finishing touches on a superb run through the tournament as they blanked Tahiti 6-0 to win their 14th title overall and their first since 2009. Iran
finished as the bronze medallists with their 5-3 win over Italy. By virtue of being the hosts, the Bahamas had a team entered and even though they didn’t advance out of the first round, they
played in an exhibition game against an All-Star team. The Bahamas, however, lost that match 6-3 on Saturday night. Following the hoisting of the winning trophy by Brazil, the curtains came down on the tournament with an after party that was held in the fan zone adjacent to the stadium. “We couldn’t have been more pleased with the way the tournament progressed,” Sealey said. “The Local Organising Committee did a fantastic job, the volunteers really showed what the Bahamian spirit is all about. “The important thing is the players, the coaches and
the visitors all enjoyed the facility and their time spent in the Bahamas. When they’re happy, I’m happy.” Sealey, whose federation got to host the CONCACAF Qualifier a month ago as a test to see how well they would be able to stage the World Cup, said he didn’t have any doubts that the Bahamas would have pulled it off. “I thought as Bahamians, we have the capacity to do anything that we put our minds to,” Sealey stated. “Once I got the executive committee to buy into the idea of us hosting this event, we set about putting the necessary preparations in place.
“We selected a Local Organising Committee, which was first rate under chairman Jeffrey Beckles. He had great assistance along the way and when it was time to pull the volunteers, government agencies and the local sponsors together, it all worked so well together that this thing seemed so flawless, but we had our issues to work out.” If presented the opportunity to duplicate the hosting of the tournament, Sealey said the BFA would welcome the opportunity with open arms. “There are some things that we wouldn’t do or some
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Bahamas team named for NACAC By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net G’SHAN Brown, Daniel Ermilus, Anthaya Charlton and Otto Laing emerged as the cream of the crop over the weekend as the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations hosted its Youth Nationals Championships. The two-day event, staged at the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium, served as the trials for the team that will represent the Bahamas in the inaugural North American and Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Age Group Championships. The championships, which replaces the Central American and Caribbean Age Group Championships, is set for June 17-18 at the Hasely Crawford National Stadium in Trinidad & Tobago. The boys and girls in the under-13 divisions will compete in the pentathlon or five events, while the under-15 boys and girls will contest the heptathlon or seven events. “The trials was very competitive and the kids were very talented,” said Sherry Francis, who served as the meet director. “We saw where some of the kids’ strength lies and where their weaknesses are. So the scores dropped up and down according to their events.We really had to wait until the last event to determine the winner.” Based on the performances turned in, Francis said the team selected is a very talented one. “The team is very strong, especially in the under-15 division,” said Francis, who will also serve as Team Bahamas’ head coach. “This is a very strong team.” With the North American region added to the CAC region, Francis said the United States and Canada will increase the competition, but she’s confident that Team Bahamas will be able to hold its own. More than 30 countries are ex-
CREAM OF THE CROP: Young athletes compete in the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ Youth Nationals Championships.The two-day event, staged at the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium over the weekend, served as the trials for the team that will represent the Bahamas in the inaugural North American and Central American and Caribbean Age Group Championships. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff pected to make up the competition. Team Bahamas, managed by Doris Wood, will leave town on Thursday, June 15 and is scheduled to return on June 19.
• Here’s a breakdown of the four divisions: Girls’ Under-13 pentathlon G’Shan Brown, a 12-year-old
from Fast Forward, accumulated a total of 2,331 points and will be joined on the team by Lanique Thompson, who competed unattached as she finished with 2,309.
In their five events, Brown clocked 8.88 seconds for 672 points in the 60 metres, soared
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Bahamian baseball players some of the most sought after prospects By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN baseball players are again some of the most sought after international prospects in the sport, according to the Major League Baseball’s MLBPipeline.com. Kristian Robinson, Trent Deveaux, D’Shawn Knowles, D’Vaughn Knowles and Keithron Moss were all ranked among
MLBs top 100 prospects, expected to officially join franchises once the international signing period begins on July 2. At No.15, Robinson is the highest ranked of the group of Bahamians and the Arizona Diamondbacks are projected to be the favourites to sign him. The 6’3”, 195-pound outfielder is a product of the Maximum Development (Max D) Sports Academy. “Robinson is a physical specimen, and scouts love his tools and potential. A plus runner, the young outfielder moves well for his size and frame. He has shown the ability to read and react well to balls on defence and has wowed scouts with his overall athletic ability. “Robinson makes all of the routine plays in the outfield and his arm is playable in centre field. That said, he could eventually move to right field,” according to his scouting report on MLBPipeline.com. “Robinson has shown raw power and is viewed as a work in progress at the plate by some scouts, in large part because he needs to improve his timing on breaking balls and offspeed pitches. There are no major flaws in Robinson’s game and he has the poten-
tial to be a breakout star in the class. Scouts like Robinson’s makeup. He just needs more reps and game action.” A diverse group, the top 30 International Prospects list includes 14 players from Venezuela, 12 from the Dominican Republic, one from the Bahamas, one from Brazil and two from Mexico. The positions break down like this - 11 outfielders, 15 infielders, two pitchers and two catchers. The Knowles twins and Moss are also members of Max D and have spent significant time with the Stealth Baseball Organisation. Max D partners with Stealth Baseball in Florida and the organisation states is goal as “to provide youth and high school baseball players the ability to play the highest level of competitive baseball at the most affordable price in the state of Florida. “ A non-profit orgination based out of Delray Beach, Florida, Stealth Baseball is the largest provider of Travel Baseball in Palm Beach County and includes more than 150 players. Max D is operated by Geron Sands, Greg Burrows Jr and Albert Cartwright. It provides an avenue for players between the
ages of 11 and 17 years an opportunity to hone their skills with the view of playing at the professional level. As for Deveaux, in January, he agreed in principle to a deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Devaux’s latest stop on his path to professional baseball was training with the Nogae Sports Nation Academy in the Dominican Republic. An international player is eligible to sign with a Major League team between July 2 through June 15 of the next year if he is 17 or will turn 17 by the end of the first season of his contract. According to MLB.com: “The rules for signing international prospects are changing for the signing period that starts July 2. According to the new collective bargaining agreement, every team will get at least $4.75 million to spend on international prospects. “Any team receiving a Competitive Balance Round A pick in the draft will get $5.25 million in international bonus pool money. Additionally, teams receiving a Competitive Balance Round B pick will have $5.75 million to spend.”