05242016 sports

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SPORTS SECTION E

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016

Baha Juniors...

Disneyland Trip, 8E

Bowling Nationals: Get ready for the final showdown By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

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t’s getting down to the final showdown as bowlers get into the swing of things this week to secure their spots in the live television roll off for the rights to be crowned the champions of the Bahamas Bowling Federation’s National Championships at Mario’s Bowling Palace on Sunday. The nationals got started last week with defending champions Driskell Rolle and Richard ‘Ritchie’ Pyfrom surging to the top of the standings after the first two game blocks. However, those positions could

change when the roll-off continues tonight with the men’s D bowlers and Wednesday when the A, B and C bowlers compete in their third blocks as the bowlers vie for the top 16 spots in the fourth round on Friday. “The numbers are down from last year, but the excitement is still brewing,” said Clayton Gardiner, tournament director. “We have some new persons who have been performing very well. “Alcondo Hepburn took the early lead, but Ritchie Pyfrom came back in the second block with an average of over 200 to catapult him back into the lead with more than 1,000 pinfalls. Alcondo wasn’t that bad. He shot a 999 in that second block.”

THREE BAHAMIANS TAKE THE SPOTLIGHT IN CLASS A MINORS By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE trio of Bahamians in Class A minor league baseball have moved into their second month of the season as they attempt to adjust to the increased workload of minor league promotion. Anfernee Seymour and Lucius Fox are in their first seasons of Class A while Champ Stuart is in Class-A Advanced. Seymour is in the midst of his most productive stretch of the season for the Greensboro Grasshoppers in the South Atlantic League. In his last 10 games, Seymour has hit .294 with seven runs scored and two stolen bases. Seymour, who starred for the rookie Batavia Muckdogs in the Gulf Coast League last season where he played in 64 games at shortstop with a batting average of .273, was called up in April to the Grasshoppers. Now with the shift to outfielder defensively, through 39 games thus far, Seymour is hitting .235 with 22 runs scored, 14 stolen bases and 37 stolen bases. He has recorded a slugging percentage of .242, an on-base percentage of .280 and an OPS of .522. The 20-year-old, 5’11” 165-pound Seymour was taken by the Miami Marlins with the 197th pick in round seven of the 2014 MLB Draft. This offseason he has moved up from the Marlins’ No.26 top prospect to No.13. Also in the Class A South Atlantic League, Lucius Fox made his much-anticipated pro debut this season for the San Francisco Giants. With the Augusta GreenJackets, Fox is listed as the Giants’ No.4 prospect and has eight hits in his last 10 games. In a May 15 matchup against Greenville, Fox flashed the brilliance the franchise expects to see since they signed him to a lucrative free agent contract out of high school. In his first three hit game of the season, Fox went 3-5 including a double and triple, with one RBI. After an 0-3 start in game one, Fox had the best game of his young career in game two when he went 2-5 with a home run, five RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. In 31 games thus far, Fox is hitting .216 with 21 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, slugging .302, an on-base percentage of .326 and an OPS of .628. The 6’2” 170-pound shortstop was the most anticipated signing of the Giants International Prospect class last July. The Class-A leagues, the South Atlantic and Midwest, feature a cross

SEE PAGE 2E

WARRIORS VS. THUNDER GAME 4 @ 9PM TONIGHT

Pyfrom currently leads with a total of 1,988 pins and an average of 198.80. Hepburn follows with 1,971 pins and a 197.10 average, trailing by 17 pins. David Slatter, one of the most consistent bowlers, is sitting in third with 1,845 pins and a 194.50 average. He is behind the leader by 43 pins. Rounding out the top five are Leonardo ‘Lee’ Davis in fourth with 1,907 pins and an average of 190.70 to trail the leader by 81 pins, while Ken Brathwaite Sr occupies the fifth spot with 1,870 pins and a 187 average. Brathwaite is 118 pins out of first place. One of the perennial bowlers to watch, Sonith ‘Kemosabee’ Lock-

hart, is sitting in 15th spot with his total of 1,761 and a 176.10 average, which has him 227 pins out of first place. “The top 16 bowl an additional block, so he’s not out of the woods just yet,” Gardiner said. “One of two persons, who didn’t bowl in the A, B or C category, could push him out depending on how they bowl on Tuesday and Thursday. Kemosabee will have to bowl a tall round on Wednesday to get in the standings.” Only the top 16 bowlers will stay alive to bowl on Friday when the finalists will be determined for Sunday’s live television roll-off. On the ladies’ side, with a limited field of competitors, Rolle has established her top position with a

Raptors even series 2-2

IN THE CLUTCH: Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) controls the ball as Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving defends in the second half of last night’s Eastern Conference Finals in Toronto. The Raptors won 105-99 to tie the series at 2-2. (AP)

total pinfall of 915. Jonice Lockhart follows with 793. Last year’s runner up Janice Hoyte is in third with 836. Angela Smith holds onto fourth with 902 with her daughter Tara Culmer completing the top five with 873. “There are only 12 women competing and only the top five will advance to the final on Sunday,” Gardiner said. “So it will be interesting to see who gets in and who will be on the outside looking in.” Gardiner said they are expecting a real competitive showdown for the rest of the week as they gear up for the grand finale on Sunday at Mario’s Bowling Palace. He wants the bowling community to come out and cheer on their favourite players.

FLAG FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM SEARCH HITS NEW PROVIDENCE By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE national team search for flag football finally reached the capital as scores of hopefuls came out to the College of the Bahamas hoping to earn a spot on the final roster. The third stop on the tryout tour produced a number of promising results, despite early inclement results from the combine, according to Mel Ferguson, national team administrator. “The talent was every bite as we had anticipated,” he said. “There were four best recorded tryout times, one coming from the men’s side and two from the women’s. Theran “Matrix” Evans ran a 4.54 in the 40-yard dash and Carlene Johnson ran a 5.19, both of which were national tryout records, Carlene Johnson, Dyaria Knowles and Jade Knowles all ran a 7.50 in the 20-yard shuttle which too was a national tryout record.” At each tryout, players will undergo a series of combine tests including the 10-yard shuttle, 20-yard shuttle, three cone drill, the ‘W” drill, 40yard dash, standing broad jump, vertical jump and finally throwing and receiving skills. Tryouts took place in Exuma and Grand Bahama prior to New Providence. The schedule concludes on Friday (May 27) in Abaco. “The Selections Committee was very impressed with the competition as well as the enthusiasm displayed by the athletes attempting to make the first ever flag football national team,” Ferguson said. The team roster will be named on May 25 and any additional players from the Abaco combine will be named on May 28.

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Pro ball player Altidor gets a taste of success By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net SUCCESS at the pro level came almost immediately for Bahamian basketball player Kevin Altidor. Altidor and his Gijon Basket 2015 club claimed the championship title of the Spanish Primera Nacional basketball league and with the win, received promotion to the EBA League. In his first season with the club, Altidor made an immediate impact and that continued in the finale when he scored 17 points in his team’s 77-50 win over Castrillon. After a closely contested first half, Gijon broke the game wide open in the third quarter with a 17-2 run. They took a 64-36 lead into the fourth and easily held

on down the stretch to secure the win and advancement. Altidor, a 6’5” forward originally from Marsh Harbour, Abaco, played collegiately at Roane State Community College and later with the Young Harris College Mountain Lions. Altidor played two seasons for the Mountain Lions (201315), averaging 14.1 points and 7.9 rebounds in 53 games with 67 blocked shots and 73 steals. He averaged 14.9 points and 8.9 rebounds as the Mountain Lions advanced to the semi-finals of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament last year where he was named to the All-tournament team. Altidor attended Abaco Central High School before concluding his high school career with the CC Sweeting Cobras. In an interview with the Aba-

conian during his JuCo tenure at Roane, Altidor cited incidents in his childhood neighbourhood of Pigeon Pea as the motivation to further his education through basketball and escape negative surroundings. “Every day in the gym, I thought about it [the incident], about wanting to make a person out of myself. It drove me to try to make it. I was willing to go the extra mile, even try for the NBA.” He said: “I want to be an example for all the younger kids growing up in the Mud or in the Peas.” Altidor joined the Spanish club in November 2015 and the team was in the midst of a middling 0-4 start to the season. The Primera Division is the fifth level in the Spanish league with the best teams promoted to Liga EBA.

KEVIN ALTIDOR


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