SPORTS SECTION E
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2017
Robinson wins first amateur golf title By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net evaughn Robinson, preparing for the United States Mid Amateur Championships this weekend in Atlanta, Georgia, pulled off a major victory over the weekend as he clinched his first title at the Greater Houston City Amateur Championships at the Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, Texas. The 29-year-old mechanical designer for Valco Instruments in Houston posted a four-round total of 274 after he shot 69, 69, 65 and 71 to beat out Justin Kaplan on the count back after he also produced a 274 (65-68-68-73) as they held off Matt Van Zandt, who was one stroke behind at 275 (67-69-70-69). “It was truly a remarkable experience, giving all of the hard work and dedication that I put in the past many months and years and to see something pay off like this is a humbling and gratifying experience for me,” Robinson told The Tribune. The Bahamas Golf Federation’s reigning national
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champion and top performer for the Bahamas national team at the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships, held in the Dominican Republic over the summer, won his first major victory in the United States and he indicated it will be one that he will cherish for a long time. “I’ve qualified for some pretty big events, but for an actual win, this is the first one since I graduated from college,” said Robinson, who graduated from Texas Southern University with his bachelor’s degree in 2010 before going on to earn his masters in 2012. Last year, Robinson finished in the top 10, which secured him an automatic berth into the tournament this year. This time, he made good of the opportunity. “The actual physical performance, I can’t say was too much different from last year. It was all on the mental side,” he said. “For the past few weeks and months, I’ve been extremely dedicated to improving to where I need to be around the golf course and the way I actually think about my ability and skills.
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expected to be shared between second-year wing Malachi Richardson, rookie Justin Jackson and veteran combo guard George Hill. Kings legend and current director of player personnel, Peja Stojakovic, said Hield and the highly touted Bogdanovic have the ability to coexist on the floor. “Their games are different,” Stojakovic said. “Buddy is a scorer, and he is getting better (off the dribble) and on defence. “Bogdan is more versatile. He scores and makes plays, and he can really pass. When Dave (Joerger) goes small, you might see them. And they both really love the game.”
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SAILING: MARK HOLOWESKO CLINCHES MAJOR TITLE IN FRANCE By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
DEVAUGHN ROBINSON, of the Bahamas, shows off his trophies won in the Greater Houston City Amateur Championships at the Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, Texas. He is now preparing for the US Mid Amateur Championships in Atlanta, Georgia, this weekend.
Buddy and Kings tip off NBA preseason By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net FOLLOWING six days of an intense training camp, Buddy Hield and the Sacramento Kings tipped off the NBA preseason as they continue to refine rotations and style of play for the upcoming 2017-18 campaign. Prior to the Kings hosting the San Antonio Spurs, Hield outlined his offseason preparation a position battle in training camp and the team’s outlook. “Competition is what it’s all about. Everything will work itself out. Just keep working,” he told Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee. “You have to keep your body in shape, and I worked on that, and everything else this summer. My trainer was with me most of the time, in the Bahamas when I was there for my children’s camp and hurricane relief, and here for about three weeks. I still have to do a better job eating right (those conch fritters are lethal), but I’m more cut than I was. I feel stronger. I think we’re going to have a good year. We shouldn’t talk about a championship because we are a few years away. But we should be thinking about the playoffs.” Hield, seven-year veteran Garrett Temple, 20-year veteran Vince Carter and newcomer Bogdan Bogdanovic are all listed at the shooting guard spot. Minutes at the position are also
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SACRAMENTO Kings’ De’Aaron Fox, left, George Hill, centre, and Buddy Hield go for the ball during training camp last Thursday in Sacramento, California. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) After spending the bulk of the week at the practice facility, Sunday’s session shifted to the Golden 1 Center. “It’s good to get out in front of the bright lights and the bigger stage and get out of the practice facility and do different things sometimes. It doesn’t have to be beautiful and aesthetically pleasing to the eye to be valuable. We’re just trying to lay down the foundation for how we want to play out of some actions off the pass,” Kings head coach Dave Joerger said. “There’s some competition for some spots, just go out compete and be great teammates, between the lines compete your tail off because by doing that
you make the other guy better and that’s very selfless and that’s what we worry about.” Following last night’s game, the Kings travel to face the Spurs once again on the road just days later on October 6. They get their first opportunity for a back-to-back when they face the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trailblazers on October 8-9 respectively. Those games are followed by a matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers on October 12 and the preseason concludes on October 13 against the defending champion Golden State Warriors. The Kings open the regular season on Wednesday, October 18, against the Houston Rockets.
AFTER finishing up as runner-up to fellow Bahamian Gavin McKinney last month at the International 5.5 Metre Class Association’s 2017 World Championships in Benodet, France, Mark Holowesko clinched his major international title at the Régates Royales Cannes Trophée Panerai last week in Cannes, France. Holowesko, sailing on the New Moon with Christoph Burger and Peter Vlasov, excelled during the week of competition, dominating with five first place, a second and a third. In the process, they also walked away with the Five Nation’s Cup title, another prestigious honour for the Bahamas.
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BRACKETS RELEASED FOR INAUGURAL ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS SHOWCASE By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE brackets have been released for the inaugural Islands of the Bahamas Showcase and a stacked field of recent NCAA Tournament participants are slated to compete. Eight elite mid-major NCAA Division programmes will participate in the early season tournament at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium November 17-19. Participating teams include the Bradley Braves, Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, Iona Gaels, Northern Kentucky Norsemen, Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners, Vermont Catamounts, Weber State Wildcats and James Madison Dukes. Vermont and Bradley will tip off play at 11am on opening day, November 17. They will be followed by Coastal Carolina and Texas-San Antonio at 2pm,
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UB Mingoes bounce back, get revenge in 7-0 shutout of Suns By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net IN their quest to gain entry into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Sun Belt Conference, the University of the Bahamas Mingoes took their first trip to Florida to play against some of the teams they possibly face if accepted by 2018. The Mingoes, coached by Dion Godet, lost their opener 3-0 to the Florida College Falcons on Thursday in Tampa, but bounced back on Saturday to take revenge out on the Johnson University Suns in a 7-0 shutout in Orlando. “Florida College was a very challenging match and to be honest, a much better squad than UB,” said Godet, who is assisted by Harvey Mullings, one of the country’s former outstanding goalkeepers. “They played at an advance level that demanded that UB pour our heart and soul given that our top goal scorer Stuart Hanna was unable to travel due to a student leaders’ conference in Washington DC.” Godet said they learned a valuable lesson from the first match
UNIVERSITY of the Bahamas Mingoes men’s soccer team. that drained their tanks, but it also built their belief system that they could play with the big boys. After falling behind 1-0 on a penalty on a questionable hand by Josh Duncombe, team captain Julio Jemison had a chance to equalise the score when he broke
through the Falcons’ defence, but he failed to connect on the shot. The Falcons, using an array of passing and fresh subs, opened the second half and went on to post a few brilliant passes that resulted in two more goals to push the game out of reach.
Despite the loss, Godet said the Mingoes’ goalkeeper Michael Butler, centre back Justin Smith and holding mid Marlon Miller gave the Falcons a run for their money. Against the Suns, the Mingoes had a chance to strike out, but
there was a miscommunication between Jemison and Smith. But that was quickly wiped away as Devonte Dean of Grand Bahama got the ball across the mouth of the goalpost before freshman Barry Smith guided it into the back of the net. Dean then got a shot to Butler for the second goal and the scoring continued. “UB was clearly the better squad as we limited much of the play by the Suns to half of the field,” Godet said. “Suns’ goalkeeper made save after save until Freeport native Denzel Deveaux got behind the defence for a 3-0 lead. “Freshman Mario Louis got into the books after beating the keeper on a one-on-one play, which was shortly followed by Denzel’s well struck shot later in the half that followed and eager James Darville made sure our total climbed to 5-0.” In the second half, Jemison got a goal kick that found Tristin Arnold waiting as he ran past the Suns’ defender and skillfully chipped it past the approaching Suns’ goalkeeper.
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