10192016 sports

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SPORTS SECTION E

BASEBALL

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2016

ALCS, Page 8

David Nesbitt making moves in the pro ranks

DAVID NESBITT

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net NATIONAL basketball team stalwart David Nesbitt is on the move again at the professional level. The 25-year-old forward has been a key component for his new club in Uruguay’s Liga Uruguaya de Básquetbo (LUB), Goes Montevideo. Despite the team’s 1-2 start, Nesbitt has averaged 12 points and six rebounds per game in his new surroundings. In the season opener, he finished with nine points, three rebounds and two blocks in a 67-52 loss to Aguada. He reached dou-

ble figures scoring in game two with 13 points and four rebounds in a 64-62 loss to Universitario. He added 14 points and six rebounds - both season highs - in an 86-49 win over Olimpia. The Uruguayan Basketball League began to compete in 2003. Before that date, the basketball championships were only metropolitan and no competitions brought together all the clubs in the country. Until the LUB was created, the capital clubs participated in the Uruguayan Federal Tournament, while the clubs of the rest of the country competed in regional tournaments. The Uruguayan Federal Tournament was founded in 1915,

making it amongst the oldest on the continent. Nesbitt spent the last two seasons in the Iraqi Superleague with Al Mina. He helped them to win the regular season and make it to the final. He was also voted to Asia-Basket.com’s Iraqi League All-Imports Team and second Team. Nesbitt has also played professionally in Kazakhstan (Kaspiy Aktau). A graduate of St Thomas University, he played locally at the high school level with the Catholic High Crusaders before heading to Grayson Junior College. Nesbitt has been a member of several editions of the Bahamas

national team at both the senior and junior levels. Most recently, he was a member of the 2016 Centrobasket team which finished 7th in Panama. Nesbitt averaged 12.4 points and seven rebounds per game in the tournament. At the 2015 CBC Championships in Tortola British Virgin Islands, Nesbitt averaged nine points and 7.2 rebounds per game as the team finished with the silver medal. As a junior, he was a member of the FIBA Americas U-18 Championship team that finished eighth in 2008. At that tournament Nesbitt averaged 6.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

‘Buddy Buckets’ gets first preseason start By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

T

he learning curve for Buddy Hield continues as the New Orleans Pelicans prepare to conclude their preseason schedule this week. In his first preseason start last night, Hield finished with 13 points, three rebounds and two assists in the Pelicans’ 96-89 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a bounce back performance for Hield who went scoreless last Wednesday in the Pelicans’ final game of the NBA Global Game series in Beijing, China. The 6’4”, 215-pound guard opened the preseason with 19 points in his debut, followed by games scoring 18 and 14 respectively. Through three games he shot 6-15 from three-point range and 20-38 from the field. In the two games since he has shot 0-8 from three-point range and 5-19 from the field. “It’s been okay. Even if I’m going good, I still feel like I can get better. Never get too high or too low – always stay in between,” Hield said Monday at training camp. “I always keep that mindset. It’s about getting a feel for the game and confidence. Getting confident more in myself, that’s the biggest thing and what’s important in these next two preseason games.” New Orleans (1-4) concludes its six-game preseason schedule tomorrow on the road against the Orlando Magic. “I’ve been solid,” he said. “I’ve been good defensively. I still can get better, and that’s just watching more tape. It’s knowing player personnel – which (opposing) player does this and does that.” Pelicans All-Star forward Anthony Davis sat out his first game since suffering a Grade 2 sprain last week in China. He is projected by the team to be out for 10 to 14 days and could miss the October 26 opener against Denver.

PELICANS guard Buddy Hield in action against the Pacers during a preseason game in New Orleans on October 4. (AP Photo/Max Becherer)

JONQUEL JONES TO CONTINUE OFFSEASON IN KOREA By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net FOLLOWING a productive rookie season, Jonquel Jones looks to continue her offseason development in Korea as her season tips off in just under two weeks. Jones will prepare to continue her pro career as she ventures into the Korean Basketball League after being drafted No.5 by Woori Bank Hansae Chuncheon for the 2016-2017 on July 10 in Seoul, South Korea. They will open their season on October 29 against the Samsung Life Blue Minx. Jones finished her rookie campaign for the Connecticut Sun averaging 6.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shot in just over 14 minutes per game. She shot 53 per cent from the field and 33 per cent from threepoint range. She received one vote in the 2016 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year tally to finish in a five-way tie for fifth behind winner Jantel Lavender. She ended the season with one of her most productive games - a season high 21 points with seven rebounds - in the Suns’ 8778 win over the Washington Mystics. “I would say it’s been a learning experience,” admitted Jones to the Minnesota Spokesman Recorder. “The transition has been a challenging one. But it also has been one I wouldn’t trade — a lot of people would like to be in our places to play professional basketball as a profession.” She remains optimistic about her growth this offseason in Korea, in an effort to prepare for her pro sophomore season.

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As beach soccer events draw near, Sealey talks development By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net IN a relatively short time span, the Bahamas has become a major regional player in beach soccer and now the Bahamas Football Association seeks to join the rest of the Caribbean in making the development of this mode of the sport a major initiative. In 2017, the Bahamas will host two major beach soccer events, the CONCACAF Beach Soccer World Championships in February and the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in May. BFA president Anton Sealey said the Bahamas will look to continue its development of the sport on the sand. “We in the Bahamas are very excited to host both of these events

as these competitions will have a major impact in the Bahamas and the Caribbean. We are very excited about the opportunities from a social and economic standpoint as well as growing the game. Since 2013, the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships, we have concentrated our efforts in building a foundation for the sport by investing in programmes and infrastructure. It is evident how bright the future is for our nation and for the confederation,” Sealey said during Monday’s draw for the 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships in Miami, Florida. He underscored the impact the events will have on the development of the local game and called beach soccer “the great equaliser” for smaller countries like the Bahamas to compete with traditional

THE BAHAMAS was drawn in Group A on Monday for the 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships in Miami, Florida.

powerhouses. “We have the potential to excel in this form of football and I encourage all participating CONCACAF teams to keep building on this momentum for beach soccer within our region and to continue to impress upon the administration of your MA’s the importance of this modality of football to the development not only of the beach game but also how it impacts the grass game as well. It is actually a complement to the grass game and not in competition. This is something I know, as presidents we feel as if our success is defined buy our national teams on the grass but we understand that this is just as an important part of football and it enhances the grass game. It should be

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