Home|Sports|Ayton signs offer sheet with the Pacers; Suns have two days to matchSports

Suns have two days to match

The Nassau GuardianSend an emailJuly 15, 2022 301 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

Phoenix Suns’ big man DeAndre Ayton could be joining fellow Bahamian Chavano ‘Buddy’ Hield in Indiana for the 2022-2023 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, as it was reported by his agents yesterday that he signed a four-year, $133 million maximum contract offer sheet with Indiana Pacers. It would be the first time two Bahamians play on the same team in the NBA.

As for the offer sheet, it is the largest in NBA history to a restricted free agent, surpassing the four-year, $107 million deal signed by Otto Porter Jr. with the Brooklyn Nets in 2017. However, according to reports, the Pacers apparently haven’t officially submitted the agreed-upon max offer sheet, which allows the Suns to still sign-and-trade the center to Indiana.

Ayton was looking for a max contract from the Suns, similar to the ones his draft classmates Luka Dončić and Trae Young got with their respective teams in the summer of 2021. Ayton was the number one overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft while Dončić went third to the Dallas Mavericks and Young was taken fifth by the Atlanta Hawks. Dončić and Young might have better numbers individually, and more accolades, in their short time in the league, but neither of them has experienced more team success.

Ayton, 23, helped the Suns reach the NBA Finals in 2021 where they lost four games to two to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, and then helped the Suns clinch the number one overall seed in the Western Conference in 2022. They advanced to the Western Conference semifinals before being knocked out in seven games by the Mavericks.

Adrian Wojnarowski, of ESPN, broke the news of Ayton’s signing yesterday.

 “This is practically what the Suns must do. It’d just be too costly to lose the talented and young Ayton for no return. In the midst of championship contention with Chris Paul and Devin Booker, Phoenix shouldn’t take a step back now,” reported Wojnarowski yesterday.

Both all-star guards Paul and Booker are under contract with the Suns – Paul through 2025 and Booker through 2028, inking a massive four-year $224 million supermax extension in June.

The Suns have two days to match the offer sheet to Ayton, and there are indications that they intend to do so. Otherwise, they would lose the promising young center to the Pacers for nothing in return. Faced with that possibility, the Suns would likely match the offer sheet, or just sign Ayton outright. Thereby, Ayton and the Suns could structure the contract as they wish and avoid trade restrictions that come with a matched offer sheet.

If the Suns match the offer sheet, they can’t trade Ayton anywhere until at least January 15 – and can’t trade him to Indiana for a year.

Ayton averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds this past season while shooting 63.4 percent from the field. This is the fourth straight season he averaged a double-double with the Suns and is at 16.3 and 10.5 for his career. Also, he has improved tremendously defensively in his four years in the league, and has developed into a quality starting center.

However, the Suns don’t generate their offense through a post-dominated attack. Instead, the focus is on more guard penetration, pick and pop moves and perimeter play. Therefore, their main assets would be Booker and Paul and complementary wing players.

As mentioned, the Suns have two days to match the offer sheet. They had never made Ayton an offer on a max contract, suggesting that they didn’t value him as a max player. 

It remains to be seen what the guard-friendly Suns will do.

https://thenassauguardian.com/ayton-signs-offer-sheet-with-the-pacers-suns-have-two-days-to-match/

 Home|Sports|Bodybuilding nationals set for SaturdaySports

Over 50 athletes expected to compete in the bodybuilding and fitness nationals

Simba FrenchSend an emailJuly 14, 2022 392 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

Local bodybuilding and fitness fans will have an opportunity to watch a show, featuring the sport, after two years of being starved as the Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (BBFF) gets ready to host the 49th BBFF National Championship at the Atlantis Theater at Atlantis, Paradise Island on Saturday. Action gets underway at 7 p.m.

There are about 50 athletes who will be competing, and some may register at the last minute. They will compete in men’s physique, men’s muscular physique, women’s figure, women’s bikini, women’s wellness, women’s fit model, women’s fitness, men’s fitness, men’s fit model, men’s classic physique and men’s bodybuilding.

BBFF President Joel Stubbs said that the show is on and the athletes are ready to perform.

“The athletes are all geared up and everyone is in a good mindset. They are ready to battle and compete for this year’s title. They are some 10 divisions up for grabs including the men’s bodybuilding category, which is the most intense of them all. There are also competitors in the softer categories like woman’s bikini, where there will be a lot of female competitors who are not muscle-bound but will showcase a curvy structured shapely body,” Stubbs said.

One of those athletes participating in the men’s physique category this weekend is Our News sportscaster Marcellus Hall.

“I made the decision to do the show less than 12 weeks ago, but I was training all along so it was not much of an adjustment. The last four to five weeks, I had to buckle down and put in the extra workouts and be conscious of nutrition. It began to take a toll on me these last few weeks because the energy level is low. This is the time that I have to focus because it is getting to the nitty-gritty,” Hall said.

Also participating in that same category is Terrion Kemp. He spoke about his preparation for the show.

“For the past 12 weeks, it was very intense training-wise as I trained twice per day and ate about six to seven meals per day on a strict diet. Those were the things I had to do so I can showcase the best on stage,” Kemp said.

Stubbs spoke positively about the show that took place in Freeport, Grand Bahama, earlier this month – the BBFF Northern Bahamas Championships. He is expecting to see some of the athletes who took part in the northern championships on the stage at Atlantis on Saturday night. Some of those athletes expected to compete again are Orick Nesbitt, Andrew Sweeting, Sanadia Smith, Taneka Kemp, Altonique Curtis, Taneka Thompson, Danielle Rollins and Shinaia Pierre.

Some of the athletes from New Providence who will be competing are Andrew Gibson, Giovani Farrington, Gemo Smith, Kaif Young and Wellington Wallace.

The president is pleased that there are some new faces who will be competing. Some of the usual athletes who compete decided to turn to the professional ranks.

“We have seen a lot of new faces stepping up to the plate. On Saturday, persons who come to the show will see competitors who they are not accustomed to seeing at shows over the years. They will be graced with new presence. We are thankful to those individuals for giving it a try,” Stubbs said.

There will be a trophy that will be given to the gym which has the most athletes participating in the show.

The federation is inviting the public to check out the weigh-in of the athletes at J-Line Fitness on Shirley Street. That event stats at 5 p.m. and ends at 8 p.m. on Friday.

General admission tickets are $25 each in advance and $30 each at the door. VIP tickets are $40 each in advance and $45 each at the door.

https://thenassauguardian.com/bodybuilding-nationals-set-for-saturday/

 Home|Sports|The Bahamas loses to Cuba and the DRSports

Sheldon LongleySend an emailJuly 15, 2022 295 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

Team Bahamas suffered its second straight lopsided loss to start the 2022 FIBA ​​Americas Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Women’s Championship, losing to the Dominican Republic (DR), 73-50, at Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum in Havana, Cuba, yesterday.

On Wednesday, The Bahamas fell 76-44 to the host country.

The Bahamas trailed by double digits early and never recovered against Cuba and led for just the opening minute of the game against the DR. Still, The Bahamas has a realistic shot of advancing to the FIBA Americas Women’s Centrobasket Championship in November, as the top three teams from the CBC tournament qualify, and only four teams are entered.

The Bahamas will play the only other team in the field, Jamaica, at 3:30 p.m. today as Guyana pulled out. The semifinals will be played on Saturday, and the championship and third-place game are set for Sunday.

In the game against the DR, The Bahamas scored first, but after the DR took a 3-2 lead on a three-point shot in the second minute of the game, they never looked back. They went on to lead 16-11 after the first quarter and 36-21 at the half. The DR really blew the game open in the third quarter, outscoring The Bahamas 22-8 in that frame and taking a 58-29 lead heading into the fourth and final period. The DR led by as many as 31 points in the fourth, coasting to the easy win.

Point guard Valerie Nesbitt paced The Bahamas with a game-high 20 points on 9-for-18 shooting. She added seven assists, six rebounds and six steals but also had a game-high seven turnovers. Denika Lightbourne, just 17, was the only other player in double figures for The Bahamas, scoring 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting from the field.

Genesis Evangelista led a balanced scoring attack by the DR with 11 points and added six assists and four rebounds. Sugeiry Monsac had 10, Cesarina Capellan scored nine and Yenifer Jimenez dropped in eight.

The DR shot 44.4 percent from the field (28-for-63), compared to just 31.8 percent for The Bahamas (21-for-66). Also, the DR more than doubled up The Bahamas in the assists category, 21-10, and outrebounded The Bahamas, 51-42.

Against Cuba, Lightbourne led The Bahamas with 17 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field. Nesbitt was the only other player in double figures for them, contributing 13 points on 4-for-10 shooting. Nahomis Vargas led Cuba with 15 points. Isabela Jourdain added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Yamara Amargo contributed 11 points and six rebounds.

The Bahamas shot just 24.5 percent from the field in that game, making 13 of 53 shots. Cuba shot 37.2 percent from the field, sinking 29 of 78 shots. They had 25 more shot attempts than The Bahamas.

As mentioned, The Bahamas plays Jamaica at 3:30 p.m. today.

Team Bahamas is coached by Donillo ‘Donny’ Culmer and he is assisted by Devon Johnson and Diasti Delancey. The five-day tournament is sanctioned by FIBA (International Basketball Federation) and will wrap up on Sunday.

The top three teams will qualify for the FIBA Americas Women’s Centrobasket Championship in November – a tournament that produced a sixth place finish for The Bahamas in 2018.

https://thenassauguardian.com/the-bahamas-loses-to-cuba-and-the-dr/

 Home|Sports|Worlds start today without StevieSports

Thomas opens competition for Team Bahamas; Miller-Uibo still strong contender for gold

Sheldon LongleySend an emailJuly 15, 2022 461 4 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

Team Bahamas will be missing a huge piece, but there is still ultimate optimism for the now 16-member team that will begin competition today in Eugene, Oregon, USA.

The 18th World Athletics (WA) Outdoor Championships will get underway today and run through July 24 at historic Hayward Field in Eugene. World and Olympic Champion Steven Gardiner pulled out of the men’s 400 meters (m) on Monday. He was a strong contender for the gold medal, but medal hopes remain for Team Bahamas, particularly in the women’s 400m.

Two-time Olympic Champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo will contest the women’s 400m, still looking for her first world title outdoors. By her standards, she has had a subdued 2022 season, but still won the world indoor title this year and remains the most feared runner outdoors. Miller-Uibo has a modest season’s best time of 49.91 seconds in the 400m outdoors – good enough to place her third on the World Athletics’ top performance list for 2022. However, she is the only woman in the field of competitors to run under 49 seconds and is the favorite for the gold medal. Miller-Uibo’s lifetime best of 48.36 seconds, done for the Olympic title in Tokyo, Japan, last year, is nearly a second faster than anyone else in the field of 51 athletes at the Eugene World Championships.

She suffered her first Diamond League defeat in the women’s 400m since 2015 in May of this year, fading to third in 51.84 seconds in Doha, Qatar, but bounced back a month later at the Paris Diamond League Meet, winning comfortably in 50.10 seconds.

“At this stage, I’m quite confident about my chances to succeed in Eugene,” Miller-Uibo told reporters. “I’m healthy, everything is going great at training. I’m exactly in the shape I wanted to be at this time of the season.”

Miller-Uibo could run a leg of the mixed 4x400m relay that starts today, but likely won’t step on the track until the heats of the women’s 400m at midday on Sunday.

The first athlete to see action for The Bahamas will be former World Champion Donald Thomas in the men’s high jump. He is now 15 years removed from that world title in Osaka, Japan, but is the only world outdoor champion on the team.

Thomas, who has a lifetime best of 2.37m (7’ 9-1/4”) and a modest season’s best of 2.25m (7’ 4-1/2”), will be the third jumper in Group B of the men’s high jump qualification round. He will compete at 10:10 a.m. today local time in Eugene, 1:10 p.m. here in The Bahamas.

An automatic qualifying mark of 2.30m (7’ 6-1/2”) or a spot among the 12 best jumpers will qualify Thomas for the final which is set for Monday evening at 8:45 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) in The Bahamas. There are 32 jumpers entered in the men’s high jump competition.

Also in action for The Bahamas today will be the mixed 4x400m relay team, LaQuan Nairn in the qualifying round of the men’s high jump and Samson Colebrooke and Terrence Jones in the first round heats of the men’s 100m.

The mixed relay team will see action at 11:56 a.m. in Eugene, 2:56 p.m. here in The Bahamas. They will run out of heat six in lane two. In the relay pool for The Bahamas are Miller-Uibo, Anthonique Strachan, Megan Moss, Doneisha Anderson, Javonya Valcourt, Jenae Ambrose, Alonzo Russell, Bradley Dormeus and Wanya McCoy.

The first three teams in each semifinal heat and the next two fastest teams will qualify for the final which is set for 10:50 p.m. EST tonight. That race will close out day one of competition.

Nairn is The Bahamas’ first competitor in the men’s long jump at a global meet in 10 years – ever since Raymond Higgs at the 2012 Olympics in London, England. He will be the seventh jumper in Group B of the men’s long jump at 9 p.m. EST this evening.

Nairn has a season’s and lifetime best of 8.22m (26’ 11-1/4”) which qualified him for the world championships. He is listed at number eight in the world on the World Athletics’ top performance list for 2022.

Nairn has high hopes of advancing to the final as an automatic qualifying leap of 8.15m (26’ 9”) or a spot among the 12 best jumpers will put him in the final which is set for Saturday evening at 9:20 p.m. EST in The Bahamas. There are 34 jumpers entered in the men’s long jump competition.

Finally on Friday, for The Bahamas, Colebrooke and Jones will compete in the first round heats of the men’s 100m. The lane assignments are yet to be released, but that event will get underway at 9:50 p.m. EST.

The heats of the women’s 100m, and the semifinals and final of the men’s 100m, along with the final of the men’s long jump, are set for Saturday. To complete the weekend for The Bahamas, Miller-Uibo will compete in the heats of the women’s 400m at midday on Sunday, and the semifinals and final of the women’s 100m will be held later on Sunday.

Competing next week for Team Bahamas will be Miller-Uibo (women’s 400m), Anthonique Strachan and TyNia Gaither (women’s 200m), Devynne Charlton (women’s 100m hurdles), Ken Mullings (men’s decathlon), and the women’s 4x400m relay team.

The Bahamas has won at least one medal at every world athletics championships since 2013, and has won 25 medals in the history of the championships –eight gold, nine silver and eight bronze.

This is the first time the world championships are being held on US soil in the 39-year history of the event. A total of 1,972 athletes from 192 countries are set to compete.

https://thenassauguardian.com/worlds-start-today-without-stevie/

As of Thursday, July 14, 2022

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#THE Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation returns to competition with its marquee event – the 49th National Championships.

#Over 50 athletes are expected to take the stage in the Atlantis resort’s Imperial Ballroom at 7pm on July 16.

#“Everybody is in a good mindset, the athletes are ready to compete,” said Joel Stubbs, president of the Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation.

#“We are encouraging the general public to come out and give us your support, come see the various categories, come and see where you fit in each category and it may be your desire to one day be a participant.”

#The weighins will be hosted on July 15 at JLine Fitness on Shirley Street from 5-8pm, and is open to the general public.

#“Ticket sales for the event have been expeditious in their last days leading up to the show,” Stubbs said.

#“We will probably end up with a sold out room, which is good news to us as a federation.”

#The BBFF recently hosted a competitive Northern Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships, which set the tone for what many expect to continue at the nationals.

#“It was a great showing. Those athletes were happy to get their feet wet after the long pandemic. They were able to train and perfect their craft,” Stubbs said.

#“They are looking forward to coming to Nassau to be apart of this year’s nationals and we anticipate this being a great field.”

#They are hoping to send a team to the Central American and Caribbean Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships, set for July 27 to August 1, at Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Center in Bridgetown, Barbados.

#Several professionals will guest pose at the event, along with familiar names to the sport and newcomers. “A lot of popular names as well as new persons will be out hoping to represent The Bahamas at the CAC Championships. This is the return of the sport and it shows that we have new talent ready to be involved in the sport,” BBFF executive Nardo Dean said. “Considering when we got the go ahead, the turnout has been really good. It made them show how driven they were to compete and stay healthy. Our message goes beyond the stage. Anything that goes into the youth and development of all persons. The message is the development of health and fitness.”

#The event features 11 open categories, including bodybuilding, figure, men’s/women’s physique, wellness, men’s/women’s fitness, bikini and muscular physique among others.

#In addition to national team roster spots, competitors will also be vying for cash, trophies, prizes and the return of the sport’s cover spokesmodel category.

#The winner will be the official face of the BBFF’s Health and Fitness 2023 campaign.

#Veteran sportscaster Marcellus Hall will go from reporting on the event to the stage as a competitor.

#“These last four to five weeks in particular have been about buckling down and putting in extra workouts, really concentrating on nutrition, not taking in too many calories, more protein, that kind of stuff. It starts to take a toll on you these last weeks because your energy levels are low but this is the time you really have to focus because it’s coming down to the nitty gritty and every moment counts,” he said. “It’s a tough sport, have a new appreciation having gone through it, for the athletes and for the sport itself.”

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jul/14/bodybuilding-fitness-49th-national-championships-a/?news

Jonquel Jones

As of Thursday, July 14, 2022

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#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#JONQUEL Jones continued her momentum from the WNBA All-Star break and posted her seventh double double of the season.

#She finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds as the Sun defeated the Indiana Fever 89-81 yesterday at the Farmer’s Colesium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

#The All-Star forward shot 7-15 from the field and also added four blocks and two assists.

#Connecticut improved to 15-8 and is now two games back of the Chicago Sky for first place in the Eastern Conference.

#The reigning MVP also reached the 2,500 point milestone for her career. She now has a total of 2,517 points.

#Jones reached her double-double in the first half with 15 points on 6-13 shooting, 11 boards and three blocks. The Sun used a 9-0 run over the first two quarters – which included six points from Jones – to take control for good.

#Connecticut shot 47 percent and outrebounded the Fever 38-26 to get back in the win column after losing four of its previous six games.

#Jones also scored five consecutive points on a run to give Connecticut a 34-21 lead.

#Connecticut posted a 14.3 point average margin of victory while going 4-0 against the Fever in 2022.

#The Sun will remain on the road Friday, July 15 against the Atlanta Dream.

#Last weekend, Jones displayed why she is a star among WNBA stars and shined on the brightest stage among the league’s best players at its midseason classic.

#She finished with a team high 29 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two steals, but her Team Stewart lost 134-112 to Team Wilson on July 10 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.

#In her fourth All-Star appearance, she shot 11-20 from the field and 5-11 from three-point range. She was the only player in the game to total a double double.

#Jones leads the Sun with averages of 14.9 points per game, ranks third in the league with 9.1 rebounds per game, and is tied for fourth in blocks at 1.3 per game.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jul/14/jonquel-reaches-2500-point-career-milestone/?news

SIX students from Tabernacle Baptist Christian Academy are off to college after receiving track and field scholarships in the United States. Seated from left are Thomas Grant (Colby Community College), Isaiah Bain (Talladega University), Stephanique Dean (Southwestern Baptist University), Deangelo McKie (Iowa Community College). And standing from left are Zion Campbell (Iowa Community College) and Lynden Johnson (Munroe College). Photo by Denise Maycock

As of Thursday, July 14, 2022

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#By DENISE MAYCOCK

#Tribune Freeport Reporter

#dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

#SIX Grand Bahama athletes have received track and field scholarships to attend colleges and universities in the United States.

#The recipients – Lynden Johnson, Thomas Grant, Isaiah Bain, Deangelo McKie, Stephanique Dean, and Zion Campbell – were presented their scholarship award letters yesterday from their school principal at the Tabernacle Baptist Christian Academy.

#Principal Ashell Bain congratulated the students for their outstanding performance as athletes on the school’s Falcons track club, which has won the Track and Field Championships in Grand Bahama.

#“We have won nine championships in a row; our track & field team has been doing an awesome job under the direction of Coach Mr Nickito Johnson,” she said.

#“We are here to celebrate with the six athletes who have been awarded a scholarship to attend various universities and institutions. Some are full-ride and partial scholarships, and we are so grateful for that.”

#Coach Johnson said Tabernacle Baptist Christian Academy is not only known as a sports school but also promotes academics and assists its athletes in getting scholarships abroad. “We are pleased to highlight these magnificent young students. Over the years since 2016, we have sent an average of four to five kids off to school for track every single year,” he stated.

#Lynden Johnson will be attending Munroe College in New York.

#He is excited about the opportunity to compete and study at the college level. “This scholarship is a blessing. The long nights of prayers and hard work practicing have really paid off,” said Johnson, who specializes in the 100 and 200 metres and the long jump.

#“My expectations of going off to college is simply to better myself as a young man and remember why I started (journey) and to keep pushing.”

#Thomas Grant, a 100m and 200m sprinter, accepted a scholarship to Colby Community College in Kansas.

#He said: “I put my trust in God in getting a scholarship and I look forward to getting better, not only athletically, but academically and bringing my talents back home.”

#Sprinter Isaiah Bain received a full-ride scholarship to Talladega University, in Alabama. He is grateful for the opportunity to attend college and compete in track.

#“I really feel blessed to be provided with such an opportunity because a full-ride scholarship does not come often and so I am very blessed and thank God for it,” he added.

#Attending Iowa Western Community College, in Bluff, Iowa, are Deangelo McKie and Zion Campbell. Both are 100m and 200m sprinters. “I feel blessed, said McKie, and I thank God for giving me this opportunity, and my (mother) for (supporting me). He said his goal is to improve his times in both the 100 and 200m sprint races. Campbell also hopes to lower his times in both races and return home with a college degree.

#Stephanique Dean will attend Southwest Baptist University, in Bolivar, Missouri. She is looking forward to the opportunity to compete and hopes to obtain a nursing degree.

#Miss Dean, who also specializes in the 100 and 200 metres, said: “I feel very excited and blessed to receive the scholarship. I expect to improve and get better and to return to the Bahamas with a nursing degree.”

#Tabernacle Baptist Christian Academy opened in 1985. The institution is known for its sports programme, particularly in basketball, track and field and academics.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jul/14/six-athletes-earn-college-scholarships/?news

BASKETBALL PLAYER TO BEGIN HIS CAREER IN SPAIN’S LEB GOLD LEAGUE

As of Thursday, July 14, 2022

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QYEMAH Gibson has signed with Palmer Almer Mediterranea Palma for the upcoming season in Spain’s LEB Gold League.

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#QYEMAH Gibson will take his talents to professional basketball and will begin his career in Spain’s LEB Gold League.

#Gibson has signed with Palmer Almer Mediterranea Palma for the upcoming 2022-23 season.

#Palma head coach Pau Tomas said he expects Gibson to have an immediate impact on the programme once he joins the club.

#“Qyemah is here to be one of our offensive references, a player with a lot of points in his hands, capable of scoring from catch-and-shoots and from bounces.” he said. “He comes to add to the team and contribute his grain of sand both in attack and defence. I am convinced that he is going to be one of the players to follow in this LEB Plata.”

#The 6’5” wing recently completed an accolade-filled career with the St Mary’s Huskies in Canada’s Atlantic University Sport Conference.

#The Liga Española de Baloncesto, also known as LEB Gold, is the second basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system after the Liga ACB. The Liga Española de Baloncesto is divided into two categories (alongside LEB Silver).

#The LEB league was founded in 1996 and is played under FIBA rules.

#The league is contested by 18 clubs. Each season, the top-finishing team in the LEB Oro are automatically promoted to the Liga ACB.

#The teams that finish the season in 2nd to 9th place enter a playoff tournament, with the winner also gaining promotion to the Liga ACB. The three lowest-finishing teams in the LEB Oro are relegated to LEB Plata.

#In his final season with the Huskies, Gibson won the Male Athlete of the Week award and was ranked top 10 in the AUS in points scored, points per game, field goals made, three-pointers made, total rebounds, rebounds per game, blocks, minutes and minutes per game.

#In his final collegiate season, he averaged 19.2 points and grabbed 7.9 rebounds per game.

#Gibson was a role player in his first year with the Huskies and averaged 5.9 points with 2.5 rebounds per game in 20 appearances off the bench.

#In his second season in the 2019-20 season, Gibson took on a larger role and started all 20 games, averaging 15.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

#The COVID-19 pandemic cancelled what would have been his third season with the Huskies but a strong finish for 2022 set him on the path for the professional ranks. Gibson was recruited to St Mary’s by former Huskies and current Niagara Prep coach Ollen Smith.

#Smith’s Ontario, Canada-based Empower Sports Network hosted tryouts as a part of its exchange programme in 2018.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jul/14/qyemah-gibson-goes-professional/?news

Steven Gardiner

As of Wednesday, July 13, 2022

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#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#Head coach Rupert Gardiner said it was devastating when he got the news that Steven ‘Speedy Stevie’ Gardiner will not be able to travel this week to Eugene, Oregon with Team Bahamas for the World Athletics’ 2022 World Championships.

#Not only was Gardiner – no direct relationship to Gardiner the team manager – to defend his title in the men’s 400 metres, but the Abaco native was also expected to play a pivotal role on the Bahamas’ mixed relay 4 x 400m relay team.

#“It wasn’t the type of news that we expected when we heard that he wasn’t going to travel,” said Gardiner, who along with some members of Team Bahamas were on their way to Oregon yesterday. “We didn’t expect to hear that kind of news.”

#Gardiner, the 26-year-old athlete, announced on his Instagram page on Monday that he will have to skip the World Championships, scheduled for July 15-24, because of UTE tendon inflammation to his right foot. He won the World Championship title in 2019 in Doha, Qatar and was coming off his gold medal performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held last year in Japan.

#More importantly, manager Gardiner said they were looking to reunite the athlete Gardiner with two-time Olympic gold medallist Shaunae Miller- Uibo as the centrepieces of the Bahamas team in the mixed relay.

#“If he was there and he ran with Shaunae, we were looking for the team to go after the world record,” manager Gardiner said. “We would have had the two best quarter-milers in the world on the men and women side and all we had to do was add two more competitors to go along with them.”

#Grand Bahamian Alonzo Russell, Bradley Dormeus, Wayna McCoy, Anthonique Strachan, Megan Moss, Doneisha Anderson, Javonya Valcourt and Janae Ambrose are the others in the pool that manager Gardiner and the rest of the team personnel would have relied on to compete with the athlete Gardiner and Miller-Uibo.

#“We will miss him because he would have brought so much to the team,” the manager Gardiner said. “But we’re confident that with the team we have, the Bahamas will still have a credible team to compete for a medal.

#“We will have to put a lot of the focus on Shaunae, but we feel we have some athletes on the team who are capable of giving the Bahamas a legitimate shot at a medal. With Stevie, we would have been assured of the gold.”

#The athlete Gardiner and Miller-Uibo teamed up with Strachan and Grand Bahamian Michael Mathieu to secure the mixed relay gold medal at the World Relays in 2017, the last time World Athletics staged the event in the Bahamas at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

#Miller-Uibo, who is listed to compete in the both the 200 and 400m at the championships, is also in the women’s 4 x 400m relay pool with Strachan, Moss, Anderson, Valcourt and Ambrose. “We’re on our way to Eugene and once we have assembled the team, we will take a look at what our situation will be for the championships,” manager Gardiner said.

#“Obviously, we will have to make some adjustments to the team, but we won’t be able to deal with it until we have everybody in place. We just have to wait and see how everybody looks and feels when we get there, but we will definitely miss Stevie.”

#The athlete Gardiner continued in his tweet that he will now focus on getting the necessary treatment so that he can be 100 percent.

#“To the people of the Bahamas, my sponsors and my fans around the world, I’m sorry I won’t be able to compete,” Gardiner continued on social media. “I wish my rivals good health and the very best. Thanks for the support.”

#Manager Gardiner said they are wishing Gardiner a speedy recovery.

#Gardiner will also skip the Commonwealth Games, which will follow in Birmingham, England, July 29 to August 7.

#He was named by the Bahamas Olympic Committee to a 28-member team, including 11 track and field athletes, that will have Roy Colebrooke as the chef de mission

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jul/13/speedy-stevie-will-be-missed-worlds/?news

As of Wednesday, July 13, 2022

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WELLINGTON Miller

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#IMMEDIATE past Bahamas Olympic Committee president Wellington Miller said he’s elated to be included with former world boxing champion Everette ‘Elisha Obed’ Ferguson in the list of honourees for the 2022 National Honours.

#In making the announcement during the 49th celebrations of the Bahamas Independence on Sunday, Governor General Cornelius A Smith said the list of citizens, some of whom are being awarded posthumously, are being recognised for their outstanding service in various areas of national development.

#When contacted on Saturday to inform him that he was one of the recipients, Miller said he had to call back to verify that the call was not a fluke.

#“Whenever you are recognised by your country for the contribution that you make, you are really appreciative,” said Miller, who was a former boxer and president of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Bahamas.

#“A lot of times when you are involved in sports, you do what you have to do, but you never think that you are doing it to get any kind of national recognition like this. So, whenever you get it, you appreciate it so much more.”

#While Miller was listed among a distinguished group of athletes receiving the Order of Merit, Obed, the first and only Bahamian to win a world boxing title, will be honoured posthumously as an officer.

#But as he has been campaigning over the years, Miller is still calling for something more tangible for his long-time friend and idol, Elisha Obed.

#“I still think that a person like Elisha Obed should have a street where so many people travel or a building that people go into every day should be named after him,” Miller said.

#“He is the first and still the only Bahamian to win a world boxing title. He deserves to get a lot more recognition than he has received.”

#Miller, however, said he is appreciative of the fact that he and ‘Elisha Obed’ are being recognised at the same time and he is even more greatly to be included with so many other outstanding Bahamian athletes in their own rights.

#Among the others receiving the Order of Merit are Cecil Thompson (basketball) and Gregory Burrows (baseball) as Companions and Alpheus ‘Hawk’ Finlayson (track and field), Denise Mortimer (tennis), Godfrey Eneas (baseball), Lawrence Burnside (cycling), Mark Knowles (tennis), Della Thomas (bodybuilding), Mychal ‘Sweet Bells’ Thompson (basketball), Norman Gay (bodybuilding), Winifred Russell (netball), Oswald Moore (volleyball), Churchill Tener-Knowles (softball), Leo Rolle (tennis), Ali Culmer (softball), Winston ‘Tappy’ Davis (volleyball), Andy Knowles (swimming), Rex Burnside (cycling/powerlifting), Allan Ingraham (football), Ed Smith (football), Florence ‘Flo’ Rolle (softball), Bobby ‘Baylor’ Fernander (softball), as officers. Sir Durward ‘Sea Wolf’ Knowles, the legendary star class sailor, will receive an Order of the Bahamas posthumously, along with his two separate crewmen Sloan Farrington (bronze in 1964 Olympic Games) and Cecil Cooke (gold in 1964 Olympics), both posthumously as Merit of Order Officers.

#Also being honoured posthumously for the Order of Merit as a Companion will be Andre Rodgers (baseball) and as Officers are Bertram ‘Cowboy’ Musgrove (cycling), William ‘Yama Bahama’ Brennan (boxing), Oswald ‘Elisha Obed’ Ferguson (boxing), Carl Minns (volleyball/basketball), Leon ‘Apache’ Knowles (softball), Leonard ‘Boston Blackie’ Miller (boxing/cycling), Natasha Newbold (powerlifting/bodybuilding), Kevin ‘Kimbo Slice’ Ferguson (martial arts), Rollie ‘the Grandmaster’ Gray (sloop sailing) and Hezron Moxey (sloop sailing).

#Grand Bahamian Neko Grant, an International Softball Federation Hall of Famer and former Bahamas Softball Federation president, will be receiving the Order of Distinction.

#“I’m so happy to see so many persons who were involved in sports being honoured this time,” Wellington Miller said.

#“They have really showed their appreciation to the athletes.

#“I think that they have done a very good selection of athletes.”

#The awards are expected to be presented to each individual later this year.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/jul/13/miller-elated-be-national-honours-list/?news