SPORTS SECTION E
Flag Football
Champions, Page 2
TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016
CBC U-16: Team Bahamas brings home the gold By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net BASED on the historic performance of the junior men’s national team at the recent Caribbean Basketball Confederation Under-16 Championships, the future looks bright for the country’s national team programme. The Bahamas capped off a dominant six-game run by claiming the gold medal with an 84-57 win over host country Guyana at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in Georgetown, Guyana. Domnick Bridgewater saved his best performance for the tournament finale and earned MVP
honours with 34 points and eight steals. Despite one of their worst shooting performances of the tournament where they shot just 37 per cent from the field, Bridgewater carried the team offensively en route to the title. He shot 58 per cent (10-17) from the field, 43 per cent (3-7) from three and 85 per cent (11-13) from the free throw line. Samuel Hunter scored 10, Joshua Cornish added seven points and nine rebounds while Michael Cartwright scored six points and grabbed nine rebounds. Detarrio Thompson scored seven and Alredo Brown scored six. As it has been all tournament,
defence was the calling card for Team Bahamas. They limited Guyana to just 30 per cent shooting from the field and forced 32 turnovers, 26 of which were steals. Though it was just by a single point, it was the first time the Bahamas trailed in the tournament. They eventually led by as much as 44 points. Guyana took a 10-9 lead at the 6:46 mark in the first quarter but Cartwright responded with a jumper to regain the lead for the Bahamas for good. His score sparked a 21-8 run and the Bahamas took a 30-18 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Bahamas defensive clampdown continued over the course
of the next two quarters where they would limit Guyana to eight points in the second and seven points in the third respectively. The Bahamas led 54-26 at the half and took a 73-34 lead into the fourth. Nursing an insurmountable fourth quarter lead and managing the clock, the Bahamas was actually outscored 24-11 in the final period but were never threatened. The Bahamas was one of the top three teams, including Guyana and Jamaica, to earn berths to the Centro Basket Under-17 Championship. At that tournament they will compete for spots in the FIBA Americas U-18 Cup, from which they can qualify for
the FIBA U19 World Cup or the Youth Olympics. The Bahamas was among a group of 10 teams for the boys’ championship. Group A included the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and Dominica. Group B included Aruba, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and the hosts Guyana. The Bahamas finished the tournament with a perfect 6-0 record and dominated the tournament from the opening tip by winning each of their games by an average margin of 51.7 points per win. The Bahamas routed Antigua
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BAHAMAS WINS DAVIS CUP OPENER By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
MAKING THE CUT: Bahamas women’s 4 x 400 metre relay team of Carmiesha Cox, Lanece Clarke, Christine Amertil and Shaquania Dorsett. Photo by Anthony Foster/Track Alert
Making the last 16 for Rio By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
T
he women’s 4 x 400 metre relay team took advantage of the Blue Marlin Track Classic on Independence Day to clinch the last of the 16 spots for the trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the 2016 Olympic Games. The one-day meet, organised by Demarius Cash, served as a last chance meet for the relay teams to secure a lane in Rio while some athletes got a chance to qualify for their respective countries or, in the case of the Bahamas, to prove their fitness level. While the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations also ran a women’s 4 x 100m and two men’s 4 x 100m teams, the women’s 4 x 400m team of Lanece
Clarke, Carmiesha Cox, Christine Amertil and Shaquania Dorsett clocked three minutes and 30.34 seconds to win the final race of Sunday’s one-day meet. The time was a bit slower than the 3:28.46 that the Bahamas ran at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China last year. But the average of the two times has pushed the Bahamas at 3:29.39 for the 16th spot. On Sunday, the team held off Trinidad & Tobago, who did 3:30.37 for second and Jamaica, who was third in 3:39.66, as they battled for one of the eight remaining spots after the eight finishers in the final at the World Championships automatically qualified. Afterwards, the women expressed their gratitude in getting the job done. “I felt pretty good, knowing
that I had three phenomenal ladies waiting for me in front of the home crowd, I knew I had a task to do and so I went out there and I executed,” said Clarke, who brought the baton around in second place on the first leg. “I feel really good because we have a group of young athletes coming up to fill the gap when the older ones like me and Christine retire.” Cox, one of the youngsters expected to fill some of the void, held her own, coming off the final curve in second place behind Jamaica as she closed in the gap to pass the baton onto Amertil. “I felt good. I had a shaky exchange, but I felt I executed. I just wanted to represent my country and I felt that I did that,” said Cox about her leg in the relay. “I ran with these ladies last year, so it was great running with them. We
were home, so it was a blast doing it here.” And Amertil, now the elder stateswoman of the team, said she was quite comfortable as she stayed behind Trinidad & Tobago when they got the lead on the back stretch, only to come back on the home stretch to pass her to give the baton to Dorsett with a slight lead. “We knew what we had to do before we came out,” she said. “We came down to the last race before the deadline, but we were confident in our abilities. It’s just great to do it. I knew the importance of this race, so I wasn’t saving anything. I just put my all and all into the race. I’m just proud of these young ladies.” Dorsett, the youngest member of the team at 18, who is com-
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HOLOWESKO EARNS US NATIONAL CYCLING JUNIOR TIME TRIAL CHAMPIONSHIP LIAM Holowesko, one of the most talented young cyclists in the country, continues to make an impression on the international scene. Holowesko, 15, was in Louisville, Kentucky last week where he won the US National Cycling Junior Time Trial Championship in his age group of 16 and under. The extraordinary cyclist won over his rivals by more than a minute. Many consider him to be an exceptionally talented cyclist and the country can expect some great things from him in the future. Liam is the son of Stephen and Alessandra Holowesko. He is in Ireland competing in an invitational with his team, Hot Tube.
CYCLIST LIAM HOLOWESKO (second from right) has won the US National Cycling Junior Time Trial Championship.
THE Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association men’s national team won their opening match of the American Zone II Davis Cup tie at the National Tennis Club in La Paz, Bolivia. Brothers Baker and Spencer Newman split their single matches before Baker Newman teamed up with player/captain Marvin Rolle to clinch the pivotal doubles to secure a 2-1 win over Honduras yesterday. “That it was a good first match despite the loss in the first match,” Rolle summed up. “Spencer was a little tight in his first Davis Cup match and is expected to improve going forth. “Baker played well in his first match. The hope is that the team will do well against Costa Rica tomorrow.” In the opening singles, Spencer Newman dropped a 6-2, 6-3 decision to Keny Turcios in a match that lasted one hour and 25 minutes. Newman had seven double faults and was just 23 of 53 on his first serves for a 43 percentage. He was 11-of23 for 47 per cent on his first serve points won and was 2-of-5 in break points won. “Nerves got to me a little bit but I am feeling better and I have a different mindset and tomorrow should be a lot better,” said Spencer Newman after his loss. Baker Newman came back and spent just about 1:05 on the court as he disposed of Alejando Obando 6-2, 6-3. Newman had six double faults, but he was 22-of-43 on his first serves for a 51 per cent and was 18for-232 on first serve points won. He was also 5-for-8 on break points won. “Everything went well. We were able to get it done as a team,” Baker Newman said. “When I saw we were down 0-1 I knew I had to get it done and I went to work and took my opponent down in straight sets.” In the pivotal doubles, Rolle and Baker Newman needed just 59 minutes to dispose of Ricardo Pineda and Keny Turcious 6-3, 6-0. Both teams had six double faults but the Bahamas completed 57 per cent of their first serve and won 89 per cent of their first serve points. They also were 4-of6 for 66 per cent on their break points. “Marvin and I took it in doubles and I am happy about the team win,” Baker Newman said. Although he didn’t play, Kevin Major, the other member of the team, indicated that he was pleased with the way Tam Bahamas performed. “Honduras is always a tricky team to play, they fight to the end,” Major said. “But we (the Bahamas) fought a little harder and overall today was a pretty good day.”
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