SPORTS SECTION E
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2018
HOOPING BY THE PARK ‘A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS’
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Silver for national volleyball team By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas men’s national volleyball fell short in their bid to regain the CAZOVA (Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association) Championships that they last held in 2012, losing to host Suriname in the championship game on Tuesday night at the Ismay Van Wilgen Sporthal in Parimaribo, Suriname. Team Bahamas, coached by Lloyd Davis and Kurkwood Greene Sr, suffered their second consecutive loss in the tournament to the gold medal winners, this time in the final, 25-20, 13-25, 25-22, 25-23, in a match that lasted one hour and 43 minutes as they settled for the silver. Two days ago Suriname handed the Bahamas their first loss in a marathon 42-40, 23-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-11 match that took 2:29 to be completed. Renaldo Knowles was the Bahamas’ best scorer with 15 points, including 12 spikes. Byron Ferguson also had 12 spikes with two blocks, while Je’Vaughn Saunders also came up with a pair of blocks. Keven Sporkselde led the home team with 20 points as they secured the five setter that last for almost three hours. Other members of Team
THE BAHAMAS’ Byron Ferguson coming through for the kill in the victory over Trinidad & Tobago in five sets yesterday. Afterwards, the Bahamas played Suriname in the championship game.
Bahamas were Princtanique Wilson, Kyle Wilson, Jamaal Ferguson, Donavan Wilmott, Eugene Stuart, Tonny Simon and Shonari Hepburn. Earlier in the day, the
Bahamas advanced to the final by dethroning the defending champions Trinidad & Tobago, 26-24, 22-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-12, in a match that was originally supposed to be played
on the first day of competition. But, after the Bahamas were delayed in getting to the tournament because of financial difficulties, a decision was made to play the game on the final
day of competition. Trinidad & Tobago, winners of the last two and three of the last four editions of the tournament, played Barbados for the bronze medal.
In their playoff matchup, the Bahamas had to go through their second five setter in the tournament, but only trailed once, at 6-5, against Trinidad & SEE PAGE THREE
HIGH JUMPER LOOKS AHEAD TO FINAL IN BRUSSELS ON AUGUST 31
By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net IN what has turned out to be his most productive season in quite a while, Donald Thomas has secured back-toback medals at the two major international track and field competitions this year. Last month, after soaring to the gold at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquille, Colombia, Thomas had to settle for the bronze at the North American and Central American and Caribbean Championships last week in Toronto, Canada. Now he’s looking forward to heading to Brussels, Belgium for the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) Diamond League final on August 31 to put the icing on his season that started with a
Thomas aims to sparkle in Diamond League fourth place finish at the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia in April. “I would just like to thank God for allowing me to compete and compete at a high level and be injury free,” Thomas said. “To be able to compete and get two medals back-to-back is a blessing. It feels good just to be competitive among the top competitors in my field.” Had it not been for more knockdowns at the Varsity Stadium in Toronto, Thomas could have easily been standing on top of the podium with another gold. But he had top settle for the bronze as he matched the 2.28 metres or 7-feet, 5 3/4-inches produced on fewer attempts by champion Jeron Robinson from the United States of America and Django Lovett from Canada.
“I just have to go out there and compete because there ain’t no one out there who is unbeatable. So I just want to go out there and compete and represent the Bahamas and continue to have fun.” Donald Thomas “It was good competition. The top 3-4 guys were jumping good. A few of the guys came from Colombia, but they didn’t jump as good as they expected,” Thomas pointed out. “Fatigue was a factor. “I was also one of the guys who came over from Colombia,
but I was able to jump pretty good. I guess most of the people who came from Colombia were more fatigued than I was and they didn’t get their legs back under them.” Although he battled through his fatigue, Thomas matched the winning height from Colombia and he attributed his success to the hard work and dedication that he’s been putting in with his Cuban coach Luis Pinioli. “I’m just putting my all into practice and listening to what coach says to do and just going out there and having fun,” Thomas said. “At this point, I am pretty pleased with what I’m doing. “Going back and forth to Cuba, spending 4-6 weeks in Cuba a few times a year isn’t what I really love doing, but I have to do it to perform at a high level. This is a sacrifice I
have to perform to produce at a high level.” Thomas said his working relationship with his coach has paid dividends as he’s on track to regaining the form that led to him winning the IAAF World title in 2007 in Osaka, Japan – the same year that he emerged as the Pan American Games’ champion. The last time Thomas produced these types of performances was in 2010 when he earned back-to-back gold medals at the CAC Games in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico and the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. Thomas, who continues to make believers out of those who doubted his ability to be competitive at age 34, was scheduled to compete again on Saturday at the Birmingham, UK Diamond SEE PAGE THREE