SPORTS SECTION E
TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2016
NBA
Durant, pages 3 & 5
CBC U-16: Bahamas steamrolls BVI 101-40 on day 2 By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net IT WAS another dominant performance for Team Bahamas as they remained undefeated at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation Under-16 Championships for Boys. The Bahamas steamrolled the British Virgin Islands 101-40 yesterday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in Georgetown, Guyana. Michael Cartwright was a force at the pivot once again and finished with a team high 17 points and nine rebounds. Domnick Bridgewater and Samuel Hunter each finished with 14 points, while Michael Williams
added 13 points and was one of three Bahamian players with at least eight rebounds. “This team is very good,” Cartwright said prior to the tournament. “Everybody is in sync, everybody knows what they are doing, everybody knows their role and I think we have a very good chance of winning the gold.” Chosen Levarity finished with a near double double - nine points and eight rebounds - as did Dericco Burrows who added eight points and eight rebounds. “This team is better than the last time I played on a national team,” Levarity said. “We have a very good chance of bringing the gold back home. We bond very well and we look at each other as a family.” After a slow start to the game
where both teams struggled to score early on, the game was tied at five. The Bahamas was able to get in sync and closed the first quarter on a 15-3 run to end the period with a 20-8 lead. A relentless halfcourt trap for the Bahamas stifled the BVI offence all game as their ballhandlers struggled to get the ball beyond the time line. Thompson’s layup made it 3411 midway through the second to give the Bahamas their first 20point lead of the game. They ended the half on a 28-9 run capped by Brown’s buzzer beating floater to give them a 48-17 lead headed into the half. Early in the third quarter Hunter made a three from the corner to push the lead to 40 (57-17). It was
part of a 31-6 run in the quarter, which included a 20-point flurry in just over five minutes which led to a 79-23 lead headed into the fourth. K’Moi Walters and Donaldson Layne led the BVI in scoring with 10 points apiece. Following a day off today, the Bahamas will face Dominica at 3:30pm tomorrow. Their final game of group play will be against Barbados 3:30pm Thursday. The win comes off the heels of a dominant rout of Antigua and Barbuda (109-71) in the tournament opener. Bridgewater led the Bahamas with 16 points and six assists, both game highs. He was one of seven Bahamian players in double figures including Cartwright who added 10 points and 16 rebounds,
Thompson finished with 14 points, Hunter added 12 points, while Joshua Cornish, Devonte Jennings and Christopher Johnson each finished with 11. 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 Under-18 Cup, from which they can qualify for the FIBA Under-19 World Cup or the Youth Olympics.
Junkanoo Bowl swings into high gear By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
W
hile all but two of the seeded players survived the first round of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s Junkanoo Bowl, none of the Bahamian players advanced in the ITF Junior Circuit Tournament at the National Tennis Centre. The week-long tournament swung into high gear yesterday following the qualifying rounds over the weekend as Americans Danny Thomas and Hurricane Tyra Black led the world-class field of competitors with their performances as the No.1 male and female seeds respectively. Thomas, ranked No.306 on the junior circuit, pulled off a 6-2, 6-4 win over Amaury De Beer from Mauritius as he made his initial appearance here a successful one. “I’m really enjoying it. The hotel is nice and the people are all so friendly,” said Black, who hails from Columbus, Ohio. “My first match went well. I think I played well. I just want to continue to play well.” Thomas, 16, said he hasn’t played in a tournament since he lost in the round of 16 at the Metropolia ITF at Plantation in May, but he has enjoyed some big wins over some top notch American opponents this year and he’s hoping that he can get back to that level. On the other hand, Black’s performance wasn’t what she expected. The top female seed from Boca Raton, Florida, who is ranked at 128 on the junior circuit, won 6-2, 6-1 over compatriot Isabella Mermersky, but admitted that it wasn’t what she had anticipated. “She’s a pretty good player, but I think I could have played better,” said Black, who just turned 15 on March 2. “I think I just came onto the court a little tight because I haven’t played that many matches in the past few months. I just hope that I can play better and better with each match.” Black is the younger sister of Tornado Alicia Black, 18, the former Top-5 world-ranked
TOP SEEDS Danny Thomas (inset) and Hurricane Tyra Black, both of the US, in action yesterday during Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s ITF Junkanoo Bowl at the National Tennis Centre. Photos by Tim Clarke/Tribune Staff
junior and 2013 US Open girls’ finalist who is now playing on the pro circuit. Two seeded players were ousted on day one on the boys’ side. They were Robert Hammond, No.5, who lost 6-1, 6-4 to Santiago Hinojosa from Mexico and Zummy Bauer, who fell 6-1, 6-0 to Vasyl Kiselyov from Ukraine. As for the Bahamian participation, the 6-foot-2 American southpaw Zachary Garner, the No.7 seed from Las Vegas, Nevada, knocked off O’Neal Mortimer 6-2, 6-1 in the boys’ matchup. “I want to go as far as I can, so I will see how it goes,” said 16-year-old Garner, who is back for his second tournament in the Bahamas after playing here in November where he lost in the quarterfinals of the Goombay Splash Bowl. “I think I played very well today. I served very well too. I just love being in the Bahamas. It’s really nice. We’re staying in a nice hotel in Melia.” The best showing by a Bahamian came from 14-year-old Donte Armbrister, who suffered an identical 6-4, 6-4 defeat at the hands of American Joshu Bode. “It was a nice experience. Playing in my second ITF under-18, I was just trying to get used to playing against different opponents with different styles,” said Armbrister, who also lost in the first round of the Goombay Splash here in November. “As one of the youngest players in the tournament, I tried to catch my opponent by surprise. But my service was off and I missed some of my easy points.” Other Bahamians eliminated on day one were John Kelly, who lost 6-1, 6-4 to American Trey Hilderbrand, Sierra Donaldson, who lost 6-3, 6-0 to American Shelly Yaloz, Afrika Smith, who lost 6-2, 6-0 to American No.8 seed Willa Bay Breunich and Isabel Donaldson, who lost 6-0, 6-0 to American Jennifer Gadalov. There was one close call that left those watching a little concerned as Arthur Bernabe from France experienced some stomach aches as he was playing
SEE PAGE 2
Hield ESPY nominee for Best Male College Athlete award By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net A STANDOUT senior season for Buddy Hield has the former Oklahoma Sooner and current New Orleans Pelican guard in contention for another award. Hield was named one of five ESPY nominees for the Best Male College Athlete award. He is one of five nominees for the award category, including Derrick Henry of Alabama (football), Jarrion Lawson of Arkansas (track and field), Jordan Morris of Stanford (soccer) and Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State (wrestling). Hield’s star-studded senior season for the Sooners concluded with a litany of awards, including
the John R Wooden, Naismith and Oscar Robertson Player of the Year trophies. He was also named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches first-team, a first-team All-American by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), Sports Illustrated and USA Today. His list of honours thus far on the year also includes the Sporting News Player of the Year, USBWA District VI Player of the Year, CBS Sports Player of the Year, Big 12 Player of the Year and the All-Big 12 first-team. Hield could have left Oklahoma after his junior season as a potential first-round pick, but he returned to school for his senior season. It turned out to be a wise decision, as he had a career
BUDDY HIELD has been named one of five ESPY nominees for Best Male College Athlete award. (AP)
year, averaging 25.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 50.1 per cent overall and 45.7 per cent from threepoint range. He went on to be selected No.6 overall to the New Orleans Pelicans in this year’s NBA Draft. The 2016 ESPYS will be hosted by John Cena on Wednesday, July 13, at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Interested fans can vote for Hield at http://espn.go.com/espys/2016/ before voting ends at 8pm on July 13. This is the second time the Bahamas has been associated with winning a possible ESPY award. The improbable finish of the inaugural Popeyes Bahamas Bowl in which Central Michigan scored a 75-yard, three-lateral touchdown
as time expired has advanced to the Finals for the 2015 ESPY Best Play award. CMU’s touchdown, the No. 2 seed in the 16-play bracket, received 60 per cent of the online vote to defeat No. 7 seed Tyler Ennis of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres in the Round of 8 to move on to the final fan vote. New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr won the ESPY Award for play of the year for his catch against the Dallas Cowboys. The ESPYs were created by ESPN as an accolade to recognise individual and team athletic achievement and other sportsrelated performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. The first ESPYs were awarded in 1993.