SPORTS SECTION E
NEW ELECTIONS CALLED FOR THE BAHAMAS AMATEUR BOXING FEDERATION By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
AFTER occupying the chair as the new president of the Bahamas Amateur Boxing Federation, Vincent Strachan will have to vacate office as new elections have been set for Friday, August 31. According to outgoing president Wellington Miller, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) didn’t accept the results of the BABF and they are null and void. “AIBA said they didn’t give us permission to hold the elections,” Miller said. “We started writing to them from December 21 last year asking them for permission to hold the elections on April 21.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2018
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BAHAMIAN TENNIS PLAYERS SAFE AFTER EARTHQUAKE SHAKES TRINIDAD & TOBAGO THE Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association has confirmed that its top two junior tennis players, Sydney Clarke and Donte Armbrister, are safe and sound in Trinidad & Tobago after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake shook the twin islands on Tuesday. Also affected were Venezuela and Grenada. Clarke and Armbrister are in Tobago where they are participating in the Tennis Federation’s Tobago Junior ITF Championships that got started on Monday and will wrap up on Friday. BLTA’s executive Perry Newton said they were in contact with the players and they are all doing fine.
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Bahamas beaten by Mexico in Puerto Rico
Results “After we didn’t hear from them, we went on to have the elections and we sent in the results. They wrote us back and told us that they didn’t give us permission to have the elections then. They have now given us permission to hold it at the end of August.” Miller said they have set the new date for Friday, August 31 from 5-8:30 pm in the ballroom at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. He said AIBA was advised to have a representative present and they are just waiting on their confirmation. “We related to them why we went ahead with the elections because they were late in responding to us,” Miller stated. “We had delegates in from the Family Islands and so we didn’t want to delay it.” With the new date set, Miller said nominations have been closed with three persons vying for president. Vincent Strachan will once again be challenged by Ikenna
FORMER WORLD CHAMPION RIDDICK BOWE MEETS WITH BOXING COMMUNITY
ABOVE: Leashia Grant goes up for a basket against Mexico’s Safia Moreno. By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
ASHLEY Moss blocks the jumper by Mexico’s Gladiana Avila.
THE women’s national basketball team suffered its second straight loss at the Centro Basket, this time falling 74-52 to Mexico at the Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Auditorium in Puerto Rico. Coming off their 95-50 loss to Puerto Rico in their opening game on Monday, coach Wayde Watson saw his front court come through big inside to help keep the Bahamas in the game. Leashia Grant once again was the offensive spark, scoring a game high 19 points in 29 minutes and 40 seconds. She was 7-for-25 from the field, 2-for-3 from the three-point line and 3-for-4 from the free throw line. Grant also pulled down 15 rebounds and came up with six steals. Sha-Londa Neely scored 10 points with eight rebounds, two block shots, two steals and as many assists, while Mavia Dean came off the bench with
10 points as well and seven rebounds. Tracy Lewis was the only other player making any significant contribution with nine points. Although she only scored two points, Ashley Moss also came off the bench and pulled down five rebounds and blocked three shots.
Rebounds Mexico, who remain undefeated after winning their opener 77-42 over Costa Rica on Monday, had four players in double figures with Jacqueline Luna coming off the bench with 18 points, four rebounds and three blocks in 35.04 minutes. After getting on the scoreboard first on a jumper from Lewis in the first two minutes, the Bahamas fell behind 10-4 in the last four minutes in the period. Mexico, however, went on to outscore the Bahamas 10-4, to post a 20-8 advantage at the end of the first break. Like they did in the
first quarter, the Bahamas opened the second quarter with a jumper from Neely for a 20-12 deficit. After a scoring drought by both teams, Grant came through with a lay-up at 5:58 for 22-14. Mexico opened the game up 25-14 on a three-pointer from Claudia Ramos. Grant canned a threepointer with 57 seconds for a 32-23 deficit and with one second left, scored on another to trim Mexico’s lead to 34-26 at the half. Unlike the first half, Mexico scored first to start the third. But the Bahamas rallied on Neely’s lay-up, Grant’s three-pointer and jumper, a basket and free throw from Lewis and a jumper from Joette Fernander for a 38-33 deficit in the first five minutes. Mexico, however, went on to outscore the Bahamas on a 16-4 spurt to push their lead out front again 54-37 to end the third quarter. Dean scored on a lay-up in the first two minutes of the fourth as the Bahamas trailed 56-39. SEE PAGE TWO
BAHAMIAN TRIO SET FOR DIAMOND LEAGUE FINALS
By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net ELITE athletes are now focussing on the International Amateur Athletic Federation’s Diamond League Finals. The much anticipated championships-style winner-take-all format is set for the weekend of August 30-31 at the Weltklasse in Zurich, Switzerland and the AG Memorial Van Damme in Brussels, Belgium where the Bahamas will be represented by quarter-milers Steven Gardiner and Shaunae Miller-Uibo as well as high jumper Donald Thomas. At stake, in addition to a Diamond Trophy, will be a hefty cash purse that includes $50,000 for first place, $20,000 for second, $10,000 for third, $6,000 for fourth, $5,000 for fifth, $4,000 for sixth, $3,000 for seventh and $2,000 for eighth. While Gardiner and Miller-Uibo have earned their berths as one of the top seven qualifiers in the 400m, Miller-Uibo entered as well in the 200m and Thomas is one of the top 12 to crack the line-up in the high jump. Over the course of the season, the athletes had a chance to qualify based on points accumulated in 12 meets that started in Doha, Qatar on May 4 and ended on Saturday in Birmingham, Great Britain. In preparation of her expected defence of her 200/400m double crown, Miller-Uibo closed out the
SHAUNAE Miller-Uibo campaign on a high note in Birmingham where she came from behind on the home stretch in the women’s 200m in the Muller Grand Prix to remain undefeated this season. “The 200m isn’t a race that I love. I really like to do it, but not as much as the 400m,” said MillerUibo, who remains a double threat
STEVEN Gardiner going into next weekend’s finals. “I’m happy to come out on top and get a pretty fast time. Once I put myself into the race off the curve, I used my 400m strength to power home.” While the Weltklasse meet takes place on Thursday, August 30, the AG Memorial Van Damme is set for Friday, August 31 where, if she decides to go for the double again, Miller-Uibo will have her hands full. The one-lap race will be contested first, followed by the half-lapper about one hour and 50 minutes later. All indications are that Miller-Uibo will be focusing her attention on the former, but will not rule out the latter. She goes into the final occupying the fourth spot in the 200m with
DONALD Thomas 24 points from her three victories. Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson and American Jenna Prandini are tied for first with 28 points and MarieJosee Ta Lou is third with 25. And in the 400m where she is also undefeated in two races, Miller-Uibo is tied for fifth with American Jaide Stepter with 16 points. Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Nasar tops the list with 39 points. followed by Americans Jessica Beard and Phyllis Francis (32 pts each) and Shakima Wimbley (29 pts). Also competing in Brussels will be Donald Thomas in the men’s high jump. He skipped the meet in Birmingham to recuperate after turning in a gold medal performance at the Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC) and a bronze win at the North American and Central American and Caribbean Games (NACAC). Heading into the meet, Thomas is sitting in third place on the SEE PAGE THREE