07062017 sports

Page 1

SPORTS SECTION E

TENNIS

THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2017

Wimbledon, Page 7

Basketball Without Borders Americas camp launched

BAHAMAS CAN ADVANCE WITH WIN OVER HAITI IN CAZOVA SR VOLLEYBALL By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net CONSECUTIVE losses at the CAZOVA Senior Championships for Men have Team Bahamas in an unfavourable position and out of contention at the group stage. Team Bahamas lost to Jamaica in three sets - 25-18, 25-19 25-18 - last night at the tournament hosted in Couva, Trinidad. On night one, the Bahamas lost a tough five-set match to Barbados - 22-25, 25-19, 12-25, 25-18, 15-11. Prince Wilson, captain of Team Bahamas (the 2012 champions) said he felt his team did not play to their true potential. “We only played in patches and we need to improve overall very quickly as we look to win the tournament and qualify to the next round. Bahamas coach Covance Mortimer echoed the views of his captain, saying: “We did not keep focus for the match at all. There were

9TH EDITION FEATURES MORE THAN 60 TOP STUDENT ATHLETES By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net he NBA and FIBA launched the ninth edition of the Basketball Without Borders Americas camp, featuring over 60 of the top student athletes from 16 countries in the region. Executives from both organisations, in conjunction with the Bahamas Basketball Federation, officially opened the event with an introductory press conference at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium yesterday. BBF President Charles “Softly” Robins called it an honour for the Bahamas to play the role of host and make history as the event comes to the English-speaking Caribbean for the first time. “The BBF is greatly honoured to have this event grace our shores with its presence. It is expected that our local basketball community will benefit tremendously as a result of your exposure and influence through the game of basketball,” he said. “Our country at large is honoured to be the first Englishspeaking Caribbean to host this prestigious event. These help to build character, provide skills development and exposure through the game of basketball. Basketball in the Bahamas has risen to new heights over the past few years. “We see an increase in the amount of males and females playing Division I basketball in America and now entering the NBA and WNBA. I invite you to enjoy the sun, sea and sand and feel what it

T

SUMMER CAMP: The NBA and FIBA launched the ninth edition of the Basketball Without Borders Americas camp at the Kendal Isaacs Gym yesterday. Photo: 10thYearSeniors is like to live and play basketball in paradise.” The day opened with a Life Skills Seminar where they had an opportunity to engage in a question-andanswer period with NBA veteran Anderson Varejao (Brazil), Tiago Splitter (Brazil), WNBA legend Ebony Hoffman and Dallas Mavericks forward Dwight Powell. (Canada) It marks Powell’s second visit

to the Bahamas after his Stanford Cardinal participated in the 2012 Battle 4 Atlantis. “The biggest thing I remembered was the people here. Everyone was super nice, and not easy to say that in a way to properly represent just how much that means, but everyone is so welcoming here. Conversations with everyone from taxi drivers, to people working in the resort to the ones you see

around town, everyone is really nice and genuine.” He expects his own experience will be different as a professional but ultimately hopes to make his biggest impact with the participants. “I’m staying at The Cove this time, rooms are a little nicer,” the third year forward joked. “Obviously I’ve had a little more life

SEE PAGE 3

BAHAMIAN PLAYERS LOOKING TO MAKE IMPACT AT HOME By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net AMONG the scores of elite level prep talent at the Basketball Without Borders Americas Camp this week, Bahamian players are looking to stand out and make an impact at home. Players took to the court for the first time together as the camp opened yesterday for positional skill development and evaluation scrimmages. Six local basketball standouts will be afforded the opportunity to compete at event. The group of student-athletes athletes includes four boys - Dominic Bridgewater (Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves), Samuel Hunter (British Colombia Prep Panthers), Kai Jones and Derryn Johnson (St Anne’s Blue Waves) and two girls - Briontae Riley (Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins) and Diondrea Nixon (Taber-

nacle Baptist Falcons). The evaluation scrimmages gave camp personnel an opportunity to scout the players ahead of last night’s draft which will determine their teams for the remainder of the week. A former student at St John’s College, Hunter, a 6’8” 214-pound forward, recently completed his sophomore year at British Colombia Prep in Canada. “It was sort of the same for me playing against unfamiliar players on the court. I play in Canada and I play prep basketball so I know some of the guys who were here from Canada and I know they play at a high level, but I’m glad I was able to get exposed to this level of competition. “It’s way tougher than we usually get here in Nassau so it’s better for us,” he said. [This week] I’m trying to be a sponge and take in every little detail, even if it’s footwork, a new move, anything I can take it to

get better, I think it’ll help me a lot. Jones is a raw 6’8” wing who projects to the next level while Johnson - a 6’3” guard - was the leading scorer for the St Anne’s Blue Waves last season. Riley was also one of the leading forces behind the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins’ success the past two seasons, which led to numerous tournament titles, including two GSSSA Championships and one national title. Nixon’s Falcons also claimed the GBSSAA title in Grand Bahama this past season. Bridgewater is also a member of the BBF’s junior national team programme and will compete on the men’s Centrobasket Under-17 team in Santo Domingo, July 2630. He played alongside Hunter at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation’s Under-16 Tournament last July where Bridgewater won MVP en route to leading the Bahamas to the gold medal. “It was normal, it was fun, we

still had to play hard and put your all into it because they’re coming to compete hard as well,” he said. “I’m looking to take away a lot, getting information from them to increase my game to make me better.” Basketball Without Borders features the top 66 boys and girls from 16 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean. Players and coaches will lead the campers through a variety of activities on and off the court, including movement efficiency, positional skill development, 5-on-5 games and daily life skills seminars focusing on health, leadership and communication. There will also be a 3-Point Shootout and All-Star Game before the camp concludes in an awards ceremony. One boy and one girl will be named BWB Americas Camp MVPs at the conclusion of the camp.

SEE PAGE 3

TOP NCAA WOMEN IN NOVEMBER JUNKANOO JAM By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE Junkanoo Jam traditionally features some of the top NCAA Division I women’s basketball programmes visiting the Bahamas during the Thanksgiving holiday and that trend looks to continue in 2017 as the new field was announced. This edition, hosted November 23-25 and for the second year at Hilton Resort’s World Bimini, will feature the Baylor Bears, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Iowa State Cyclones, Pennsylvania Quakers, San Diego State Aztecs, Tulane Greene Wave, Central Michigan Chippewas and Missouri State Bears. The tournament features two four-team divisions in a two-game bracket competing for separate tournament championships. Missouri State, Baylor, Penn and Georgia Tech will compete in the Junkanoo Division while Tulane, Iowa

SEE PAGE 3

Davonn Mackey: ‘It is a very special moment for me’ By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net DAVONN Mackey had an opportunity to share his recent success with friends, family and supporters at the St George’s Gymnasium in Grand Bahama as he awaits his rookie ball assignment. Mackey was the latest Bahamian player to ink a deal with an MLB franchise when he signed with the Oakland Athletics in a deal that includes a $225,000 signing bonus. “It is a very special moment for me and I just want to thank everyone who came out. I thank God first for allowing me to work hard and to get to this point,” he said. “I want to thank my family for sticking by my side throughout it all, my church family and my friends who were there to push me. It has

been a wonderful experience thus far and I just hope that I can keep on going and moving forward.” Mackey signed out of In the BigInning Baseball Academy in Maracay, Venezuela. The Grand Bahama native was recently a member of the gold medal-winning team for Grand Bahama Little League in the 1618 division of the Bahamas Baseball Federation’s Andre Rodgers National Championship. He becomes the second player to join the Athletics’ farm system. BigInning Academy offers elite level skills training for prospective players on the path to professional baseball. Carlos Lara of In The BigInning Academy was on hand at the signing touted Mackey’s potentinal. “He’s a great kid. He has a gift and we should enjoy it because he should be a name to watch in baseball.”

DAVONN MACKEY

Mackey is the youngest of seven siblings. His older brother, Seberon Mackey, recently completed his senior season as a pitcher for Jackson State University where he finished with a 2-0 record, nine strikeouts and a 2.19 era. Their mother, Jennifer Mackey, credits her oldest son and early mentors for making baseball the family business. “Davonn is the youngest of seven children. I have to thank Ms Staphanie Higgs who pushed my oldest son Keel into baseball and he in turn pushed the other boys into baseball from T-ball. Age,” she said. “I have to thank everyone in the family and church members that have contributed in some way, especially his six siblings. Davonn is gone now, he got his opportunity, I just want to see the other baseball players, his teammates go as well. In all things put God first, push towards it and

they’ll make it also.” Stephen Adderley, of the Grand Bahama Little League, said it produces a feeling of humility and purpose to see a player who began the game at the earliest level, blossom into a young professional. “We seem to be having more and more of these with these young men signing contracts and going to school. When they started the programme and you see them come in at 4-5 you never know which ones will make it to this level. It’s always good to see someone who started as a baby in the league make it to this point in their career,” he said. “It’s not always the one who is the most talented, it is the guy who works hardest and who wants it more. Davonn is a good example for those guys. There may be guys who were more talented but he wanted it more and this is why he is where he is now.”


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.