Home|Sports|Miller, Shizuoka keep rolling as they win their eighth straightSports

Simba FrenchSend an emailDecember 28, 2022 109 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

Senior men’s national basketball player Tavario Miller and the Shizuoka Veltex continue to rule the Japanese B3 League, winning their eighth straight game on Christmas Eve with a dominating 86-56 victory over Tachikawa Dice.

Miller was able to come away with a double-double on the back half of a home series against Tachikawa. He scored 16 points and had 11 boards on his team’s home floor inside the Shizuoka City Center Gymnasium in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka, Japan.

Miller, who came off the bench, played 28 minutes on the night. He shot lights out from the field, going 7-for-9, finishing at a 77.8 percent clip. The Long Island native pulled down seven defensive boards and had four on the offensive side. Defensively, he picked up two steals and also had a block.

Also playing in this game was Bahamian Gjio Bain who played for Tchikawa. He played 27 minutes and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field. Bain grabbed five boards and had two assists. The center also had a block.

The win by Shizuoka improved them to a 22-2 win/loss record on the season as the league enters a break. They have the best record in the league with Iwate and Kagoshima as their closest competitors with identical 20-4 records.

Shizuoka was dominant in the paint, scoring 54 points compared to Tachikawa’s 20 points. They were too big for the visitors as they held a 35-26 advantage on the boards. Shizuoka was unselfish with the ball as they dished out 24 assists on 36 made field goals.

In the front end of the back-to-back on Friday, Miller had 10 points and five rebounds in 17 minutes as his team won 70-60. He also had two steals in the victory. His teammate, Alexis Elsener, was able to lead all scorers with 28 points.

Miller went 5-for-11 from the field in that game. Bain played 14 minutes in that contest and he went 3-for-4 from the field and was able to pull down two boards. The big man had two blocked shots and one steal.

Shizouka had a strong defensive outing in this game, coming away with 13 steals as Tachikawa had 19 turnovers.

This season, Miller is averaging 12.6 points to go with 8.4 rebounds per contest. He is averaging 1.5 steals and 22.5 minutes per game in 24 games.

Miller and his team return to action with back-to-back home games against the eighth ranked Gifu Swoops (10-14) on January 7 and 8.

Miller spent last season in Brazil’s Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) with Minas Belo Horizonte. The team reached the league’s semi-finals before their playoff run came to an end.

https://thenassauguardian.com/miller-shizuoka-keep-rolling-as-they-win-their-eighth-straight/

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Hield has quiet night, and then explodes

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Simba FrenchSend an email

December 28, 2022 129 2 minute read

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Bahamian guard Chavano ‘Buddy’ Hield had a quiet night on Tuesday as he was held to just 12 points for the Indiana Pacers as they fell 113-93 to the New Orleans Pelicans. However, he bounced back 24 hours later, matching a season-high 28 points in an impressive 129-114 win for the Pacers over the Atlanta Hawks.

Playing at the Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Tuesday, Hield attempted 10 shots from the field and was able to convert four of them – all from behind the three-point arc. He had six more treys on Wednesday, giving him 132 for the season, taking over the season lead for most three-point shots this season with a tally of 132. The injured Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry is second with 131 made treys.

The Pacers now have an 18-17 win/loss record on the season and sit in seventh position in the Eastern Conference standings in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The victory has the Pelicans in second place in the Western Conference of the NBA with a 21-12 record on the season.

In the game against the Pelicans, the shooting guard also had three rebounds and one assist against the team that drafted him in 2016. The Pacers were led by Benedict Mathurin with 15 points. The Pelicans Naji Marshall led all scorers with 22 points.

Hield made his first shot attempt from the field in the opening period – a 25-foot shot from deep to tie the game at four points with 10:08 left in that period. The Pacers stuck with the Pelicans in the first quarter and even took a 16-6 lead midway through the first period. However, the Pelicans roared back, going on an 18-2 scoring run at the end the quarter to go up 24-18 and grab the momentum from the Pacers.

It was not a good second quarter for the Bahamian as he missed both of his shot attempts. The Pacers as a team had a tough time in that quarter, shooting 36.4 percent from the field. At the half, the Pelicans had a 19-point lead with a 57-38 scoreline. The Pelicans outscored the Pacers 33-20 in the second quarter to take a firmer grip on the game.

The Grand Bahama native came alive in the third quarter, going 3-for-6 from the field to finish with nine points. He played the entire third quarter but the Pelicans were too much for any comeback plans the Pacers had. In fact, they scored 33 points again, outscoring the Pacers 33-24 to take a 90-62 lead heading into the final period.

Hield did not play in the final quarter as the game was a foregone conclusion in favor of the home team.

Their three-game road trip came to an end as they went 2-1 with wins against the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat and a loss to the Pelicans.

The Pacers flew back home to play the Hawks (17-17) last night, winning comfortably 129-114. They begin a four-game homestand at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Against the Hawks, Hield had one of his most prolific shooting nights of the season, going 11-for-16 from the field and 6-for-7 from deep. He added nine rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes of play. The Pacers led by as much as 22 points in the game, coasting to the easy win.

Hield led all scorers with 28 points. Point guard Tyrese Haliburton added 23 points and seven assists, Myles Turner and Mathurin scored 18 apiece and Oshae Brissett added 16. John Collins paced the Hawks with 26 points. Trae Young had 22 and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 18.

The Pacers return to the court tomorrow for a 7 p.m. showdown against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

https://thenassauguardian.com/hield-has-quiet-night-and-then-explodes/

 Home|Sports|The Nassau Guardian’s Junior Female Athlete of the YearSports

The Nassau Guardian’s Junior Female Athlete of the Year

Simba FrenchSend an emailDecember 28, 2022 162 3 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

After a massive disruption by COVID-19, covering more than two years, sports returned in a major way in 2022, and among the medal winners and record breakers were Bahamian women under the age of 20 years old.

Standing front and center, according to The Nassau Guardian’s sports team, is a young female who excelled in a number of sports. Reference is to Dior-Rae Scott who now becomes the youngest-ever winner of The Nassau Guardian’s Junior Female Athlete of the Year.

At just 14, the young sensational athlete remarkably has five more years of eligibility as a junior athlete, raising excitement of what could be possible from her in the immediate future.

Scott has excelled in athletics, basketball and softball. She is a superb athlete in all three, but it is in the girls javelin where she really made her mark in 2022. Scott qualified and went to the CARIFTA Games for The Bahamas, and not only won a gold medal for her home country, but she shattered a 15-year CARIFTA record with a massive personal best throw.

Scott turned in a winning toss of 44.57 meters (m) – 146’ 2” – to break the former record of 42.90m (140’ 9”) that was turned in by Barbados’ Deandra Dottin in 2007. Scott was masterful in her command of the javelin at the 49th CARIFTA Games at the Jamaica National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica, thrilling the fans in attendance with the record-breaking performance. She finished nearly six feet ahead of the nearest competitor, Kenika Cassar of Trinidad and Tobago, who had a best toss of 42.86m (140’ 7”). Suerena Alexander, of Grenada, won the bronze medal with a toss of 42.57m (139’ 8”).

Young Scott got progressively better in the javelin as the 2022 season progressed – going from a 38.19m (125’ 3”) effort at the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) Track and Field Meet in March to the record-breaking performance at CARIFTA. She won the only gold medal for The Bahamas in the under-17 girls division at CARIFTA.

Scott was also a national team member for The Bahamas in basketball in 2022, representing the country at the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Centrobasket Under-15 (U15) Women’s Championship in Gurabo, Puerto Rico. Scott was one of the leaders of the team and helped lead The Bahamas to a fourth place finish. She averaged 32.5 minutes per game for The Bahamas and finished fourth on the team in scoring.

Scott is also a strong softball player, coming up under the Junior Baseball League of Nassau (JBLN). She earned two first-place votes and one second-place vote in voting for The Nassau Guardian’s Junior Female Athlete of the Year, thereby falling one spot short of a unanimous selection. The sky is the limit for the young Bahamian athlete.

Finishing second in the voting process is basketball player Denika Lightbourne with 25 points. Lightbourne is a former national team player for The Bahamas in basketball and is coming off a junior season in high school in which she  led the Tallulah Falls School (TFS) Lady Indians in scoring with 342 total points, averaging 22.8 points per game. The total figure of 342 points ranks eighth in single-season scoring in school history.

Lightbourne led the Lady Indians to their first-ever Region Championship and Elite 8 appearance last season, resulting in a number seven state ranking for the team which plays out of Tallulah Falls, Georgia. Lightbourne also had 157 rebounds, 70 assists, 68 steals and 16 blocks last season while earning a second straight First Team All-Region honor.

Lightbourne is a four-year starter for TFS and has amassed 971 points, just 29 shy of 1,000 for her career. She also has 433 rebounds, 231 assists, 219 steals and 38 blocks.

Lightbourne becomes the first TFS girls basketball player to play at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level, signing a letter of intent with the University of Dayton Flyers in Dayton, Ohio. Dayton plays out of the Atlanta 10 Conference in NCAA Division I basketball.

Swimmer Rhanishka Gibbs who represented The Bahamas on a global level this year, finished third in voting for The Nassau Guardian’s Junior Female Athlete of the Year, with 24 points.

Gibbs competed at the FINA (International Swimming Federation) World Junior Championships in Lima, Peru, and also the 16th FINA World Short Course (25m) Championships in Melbourne, Australia. She was also a standout swimmer for The Bahamas at the 35th CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Bridgetown, Barbados, turning in exceptional performances along the way.

At CARIFTA, in particular, Gibbs won four bronze medals and a silver, with individual bronze medals coming in the 15-17 girls 50 and 200m breast and the 50m fly, and relay silver and bronze coming in the girls 4x50m free and the 4x100m medley respectively.

Individually, she clocked times of 33.21 seconds and 2:51.94 in the girls 50 and 200m breast events, and 28.79 seconds in the 50m fly. They are just off her personal best times of 33.11 seconds in the 50m breast, 2:48.09 in 200m breast and 28.62 seconds in the 50m fly.

Track athlete Shatalya Dorsett, who won a silver medal in the under-17 girls 100m at the CARIFTA Games this year, and basketball player Rhema Collins, who has signed a letter of intent to play with Bahamian Yolett ‘Coach Yo’ McPhee-McCuin and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Lady Rebels women’s basketball team, finished fourth and fifth in voting for The Nassau Guardian’s Junior Female Athlete of the Year for 2022.

https://thenassauguardian.com/the-nassau-guardians-junior-female-athlete-of-the-year/

As of Wednesday, December 28, 2022

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#One day after enduring his longest match ever to book his ticket to the finals, a well-rested Denali Nottage got his shortest time on the court to hoist the 2022 Giorgio Baldacci Open National Championships.

#In what he anticipated to be an early present for his 19th birthday on Saturday, Nottage, fully regrouped from his three-set thriller over fellow Grand Bahamian Rodney Carey Jr on Wednesday, only played one game against Kevin Major Jr before he was crowned the new champion.

#The 27-year-old Major Jr, who clinched his berth in a two-game sweep over veteran Marvin Rolle on Wednesday, broke Nottage in the first game in their final yesterday before he forfeited the rest of the match. Major Jr said he had informed the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association Wednesday night that he would not be able to compete in the final but was advised that it was in his best interest to participate.

#“I came because they insisted, but I had to get back to work,” said Major Jr, a personal tennis trainer and coach.

#“I’m getting older, and I have to take care of the bills. “I love playing tennis and representing the country, but it comes to a point where it has to be financially sound for me. This tournament is not offering me any incentives as a professional tennis player.”

#By virtue of being in the final, Major Jr said he fulfilled his commitment to make the men’s team for Davis Cup, so while he didn’t get to complete his match, he earned his spot.

#Nottage, however, said he understands Major Jr’s dilemma, but it wasn’t the outcome that he was hoping for. “I celebrated that I won the tournament after playing so hard in the semifinals,” said Nottage, who in his debut in the tournament last year got eliminated in the quarterfinals.

#“It’s okay though. I understand that the life of this sport is not what you always expect it to be, so you have to get used to it.”

#Coming in from the Bill Adams Tennis Academy in Pembroke Pines, Florida, Nottage said he performed at his best to get into the final and all he wanted to do was to prove himself against the best players in the island nation.

#“I know I still have more work to do, so whenever they have the next one, I hope to come out and still give it a shot to compete against these guys,” said Nottage, who has now earned his first spot on the Davis Cup team.

#“It’s not the celebrations that I wanted, but I will celebrate anyway. I won the title and that is something that can’t change, no matter what they say about the outcome.

#“I earned the right to be here, and I was ready to play for it, but I didn’t get the chance to complete the match,” Nottage told The Tribune.

#BLTA president Perry Newton said their executive team will review the circumstances that led to Major Jr not completing the match.

#And they will make a determination on the way forward. “In sports these things happen,” he pointed out. “I don’t have the details or the full extent to his claims or whatever it is. Hopefully, he will be in a position to compete for the Bahamas when the Davis Cup team is selected.

#“But we’re happy to see Denali come through as the champion. We’ve been watching him, and we saw a lot of talent from him.

#“I remember when he played KJ before and lost in the team trials, so we were looking forward to see how well he would play him today.”

#Newton confirmed that the top two players from the tournament are automatically selected to the team, but because of the situation that developed with Major Jr, they will have to review all of the circumstances before a final decision is made on the rest of the team that will be selected at a final trial at least a month before the team travels.

#Carey Jr was named the Sportsman of the Tournament during the award presentation that was done by Newton and Antonio Saunders, the director of marketing at Fidelity, the co-sponsors of the tournament, along with RMS Insurance Agents & Brokers.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/dec/26/blta-nationals-denali-nottage-takes-home-mens-crow/?news

As of Wednesday, December 28, 2022

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#WITH her college roommate as her lucky charm on the sideline cheering her on, Elana Mackey stunned defending champion Sydney Clarke to capture her first Giorgio Baldacci Open Nationals women’s title.

#In the rematch of last year’s final of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s week-long tournament at the National Tennis Centre, Mackey prevailed with an impressive 6-2, 7-5 triumph over Clarke on Thursday.

#“In school, I go to every home game they have, and it worked every time,” said Mackey’s Mars Hill University’s roommate Alina Mueller from Germany, who is visiting the Bahamas for the first time. “Whenever I’m there, she wins. I guess this was just the match she on because I’m here.”

#Mackey said Mueller has been an inspiration because “I haven’t lost a match since she came out to watch at school.”

#With Mueller here in the Bahamas, Mackey was sensational when it counted the most in her final against Clarke, who has held the advantage over the head-to-head encounters in the past.

#In the first set, Mackey went up a break 3-0 before Clarke finally got on the scoreboard as she held serve at 3-1. Mackey broke again for a 5-1 lead, but refusing to give up, Clarke got the break back to extend the set.

#But after breaking to go up 5-2, Mackey held serve and clinched the first set.

#They came back in the second and Clarke did the same to Mackey to go up 3-0. Mackey would then break for a 3-2 deficit before Clarke got another break to surge ahead 4-2. Both players broke each other, but Mackey went on to cut the deficit to 5-4 on a break.

#Mackey would then hold serve for a 5-5, break Clarke for the final time to go up 6-5 and served out the game, set and match.

#“I had a plan and I followed it. I was able to execute it very well,” said Mackey, who noted that she “tried to be more consistent and hit most of my balls deep because she was short, and she would have problems hitting the high shots.”

#It worked.

#“I’ve been training really hard for this tournament in the fall at school, so I’m not surprised by the outcome,” said a jubilant Mackey, who got her usual support from her proud father Patrick Mackey on the sidelines.For Clarke, it wasn’t what she expected in the results, but she admitted that she’s the only one to blame for her lacklustre performance as she made too many costly errors.

#“She (Mackey) played well and took advantage of the opportunities when I wasn’t playing at my best,” said Clarke, who is in the middle of her junior year at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “So, I just have to go back to the drawing board and get ready for a lot of matches when I go back to school. “I just had too many errors today that caused me the match. I did my best, but it wasn’t 100 percent.”

#Clarke commended Mackey for her performance. “She was very locked in, and she took advantage of every moment when I fell down, especially in the second set when I was up,” Clarke reflected. “She just snagged back in, so congratulations to her. She did very well.”

#Mackey said her and roommate Mueller will celebrate this weekend and also attend the junkanoo celebrations before they head back to school on January 5.

#BLTA president Perry Newton said it was good to see the rivalry continue between Clarke and Mackey. “They have been playing against each other for almost all of their lives,” Newton said.

#“To see the two of them back at it again, was just amazing. They will get to represent the country again.”

#As a result of their 1-2 finish, Mackey and Clarke will be named to the Bahamas team for the Billie Jean King Cup, formerly Fed Cup for ladies.

#The rest of the team, according to Newton, will be decided at another trial a month before the team travel next year.

#During the award presentation at the end of the tournament, Caila Moss was presented with the Sportswoman of the Tournament.

#The awards were presented by Newton and Antonio Saunders, the director of marketing at Fidelity, the sponsors of the tournament, along with RMS Insurance Agents & Brokers.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/dec/26/elana-mackey-upsets-clarke-ladies-title/?news

SHAUNAE Miller-Uibo after winning the gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon earlier this year.

As of Wednesday, December 28, 2022

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#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#With another triple crown to her ledger, Bahamian quarter-miler Shaunae Miller-Uibo emerged as The Tribune’s 2022 Female Athlete of the Year.

#As sports returned to full strength on the international scene after the two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 28-year-old Miller- Uibo produced three major championship feats that enabled her 6-foot, 1-inch frame to stand out among the rest of the Bahamian female athletes.

#Another dominating figure, Jonquel Jones would have emerged at number two on the top five list, but she had to follow the trend in track and field that saw some defining moments from the diminutive hurdler Devynne Charlton and sprinter Tynia Gaither.

#Sprinter Anthonique Strachan, regaining glimpses of her younger self on the world stage, capped off the year, controlled by track and field athletes with the fifth spot and some added recognition off the track as a spokesperson.

#Champion – Shaunae Miller-Uibo

#After bringing her team-mates to a training camp in January, Miller-Uibo returned to the World Indoor Championships for some unfinished business.

#Miller-Uibo snatched her first gold medal in the 400 metres in 50.31 seconds in Belgrade, Serbia on March 19 to improve on the bronze she achieved in her initial appearance in 2014 in Sopot, Poland.

#She accomplished another first at the first World Championships to be held in the United States in Eugene, Oregon on July 22 to snatch her first gold in 49.11 – adding to a pair of silver medals and a fourth place in the 400 and a bronze and fourth in the 200 in four previous championships from 2013.

#And to top off her year, Miller-Uibo came home, albeit in Grand Bahama, for her successful debut at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships (NACAC) with a meet record breaking performance of 49.40 on August 20.

#She was named as one of the 10 nominees by the international panel of athletics experts for World Athletics’ 2022 Women’s Athlete of the Year.

#She fell short in the voting process but was one of three athletes added to the recreation of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture’s Legends Walk of Fame outside the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium. The other two were Strachan and men’s quarter-miler Steven Gardiner.

NATIONAL record holder Devynne Charlton proudly holds the Bahamian flag after placing fifth in the 110 metre hurdles at the Wanda Diamond League Final.

#Runner-up – Devynne Charlton

#Back at full strength in her first full season on the international scene, Devynne Charlton emerged during the spotlight that was placed on the women’s 100m hurdles with Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan leading the way with a quadruple feat at the World, Diamond League, Commonwealth Games and African Championships, while establishing a world record of 12.12 seconds in the semi-finals at the World Championships.

#The 27-year-old Charlton had a record-breaking performance of her own when she lowered the Bahamian women’s national 100m hurdles mark to 12.60 with her victory at the BAAA Nationals in June at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

#The performance came after Charlton earned her first World Athletics’ Indoor Championships with her silver in March.

#Following her trip home, Charlton had to settle for seventh at the World Championships in July where she dropped her previous national record to 12.53.

#From there, Charlton went on to ascend the podium again at the Commonwealth Games with another silver in her specialty. And to top it off, Charlton headed to Grand Bahama where she was a double medallist at the NACAC Championships, claiming a bronze in the 100m hurdles and ran the opening leg on the 4 x 100m relay team that picked up the silver.

#After getting the baton from Strachan on the second leg, Charlton got to display her versatility on the final bend to help ignite Gaither in her brilliant come-from-behind performance on the home stretch where the celebrations began. Not to be left out, although she didn’t make the top list, was Printassia Johnson, who got the team off on the first leg in the revival of the women’s relay on the international scene.

TYNIA GAITHER

#Third place finisher – Tynia Gaither

#The 29-year-old Grand Bahamian made a strong push for one of the top spots when she emerged as one of the international medal winners during what has been a banner year for female track and field athletes.

#After earning the century title at the BAAA National Championships in June, Gaither made it to the semi-finals of the World Championships in Eugene in July where she ran her lifetime best of 22.41.

#That seemed to have sparked her interest and rejuvenated her commitment to shine, finishing seventh in the 100m at the Commonwealth Games in August in Birmingham.

#But the dual sprinter didn’t rest on her laurels as she went back home and landed, not just one, but a pair of silver medals at the NACAC Championships.

#Before the home crowd at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex, Gaither didn’t disappoint the fans as she surged to her first medal with the silver in the 200m. On that same day, she had a sensational anchor leg on the aforementioned 4 x 100m relay that brought the Bahamas from fourth to silver.

Jonquel Jones

#Fourth place finisher – Jonquel Jones

#Jones, the 28-year-old Grand Bahamian 6-6 power forward, continued to shine in the Women’s National Basketball Association with the Connecticut Sun where she posted an average of 14.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game in the 33 games she played in.

#In what turned out to be another stellar individual performance in her sixth year in the league as the number six pick, Jones made her fourth WNBA All-Star game (2017, 2019 and 2021), her third All- WNBA second team (2017 and 2019) and her first WNBA All-Defensive second team.

#After the season was completed, Jones left the United States to reunite with her teammates with UMMC Ekaterinburg of the Russian League.

#Jones ended up joining the Turkish team Cukurova Basketbol, which participates in the Women’s Basketball Super League and she’s a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team that she participated for in the EuroBasket Women’s Tournament.

Anthonique Strachan

#Fifth place finisher – Anthonique Strachan

#Her decision to remain in Jamaica to train with the MVP Track Club has paid off for the 29-year-old Strachan, who showed flashes of her old self when she was named the IAAF’s Rising Star in 2012.

#Shaking off a series of injuries that hindered her progress in between those years, Strachan became the seventh Bahamian female to dip under the 11-second barrier in the 100m when she clocked 10.98 in the semi-finals at the World Championships in Eugene in July.

#Although she didn’t complete the year as she did in her most impressive year in 2012 when she earned the sweep of the Under- 20 World Championships’ 100m and 200m, Strachan closed out the year on the podium with her fellow members of the 4 x 100m team at the NACAC Championships in Grand Bahama in August.

#Strachan, who already serves as the athletes’ representative for the BAAA, was elected to serve as one of the Members-At-Large for the NACAC Athletes’ Commission during the NACAC Championships.

#Joining Strachan on the board are O’Dayne Richards of Jamaica, who was elected to serve as the chairperson, along with Jehue Gordon from Trinidad & Tobago, Ayanna Morgan from Barbados, William Leer from the United States of America and Kurt Felix of Grenada.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/dec/28/triple-crown-shaunae-miller-uibo-tribunes-female-a/?news

As of Wednesday, December 28, 2022

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#AS she continues her transition to college, University of Mississippi bound Rhema Collins came home to take advantage of some training from professional player Ryan Moss and veteran women’s coach Anthony Swaby.

#Moss and Swaby took Collins through a series of workouts yesterday at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium as the 6-foot, 2-inch forward took the break from her final season with the Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee.

#“I’ve just been focusing on basketball lately, preparing for college,” said Collins, who will be in town until December 26 before she heads back to school to play in a tournament in Tampa, Florida from December 28-31.

#“Individually, I feel I’m grown a lot as a player and a person. I feel my team has also matured to a different level from last season. So, I’m really happy about that.”

#With Webb School posting an 8-2 win-loss record before she came home, Collins said she just wants to use this time to enjoy the break with family and friends and of course engage in some basketball competition.

#She said she’s even thrilled to get in the workout sessions with Moss and Swaby. Both Denika Lightbourne, who attends Tallulah Falls, and Michelle Butler, who is at Mineral Area in Missouri, were also expected to participate in the training but didn’t make it.

#“I wasn’t expecting Mr Moss to be here. I thought I would have only been working out with coach Swaby, but it’s cool,” Collins said. “I’m really happy with the opportunity to work with him. I was really shocked to see him.”

#After retiring from playing professional when he had his last sting in Hong Kong in 2019/2020, the 48-year-old Moss, who stands at 6-7, has been training players with his most recent stop in Taiwan with their national team.

#“This is a good opportunity to give back. I don’t just want to give them on the court experience, but off the court as well,” Moss said. “I want to teach them what to do when they get their success and how they can keep the success level going.

#“So, I’m excited to work with Rhema. She looks like she’s ready for the next level. She’s also eager to learn. That’s what I look for in athletes. As long as you are willing to learn, I’m willing to teach. I try to teach the mental part of the game, not the physical because it’s 80 percent mental and 20 percent physical.”

#Swaby said after engaging Moss to work out with the women’s national team that was scheduled to go to Mexico last month, but didn’t because of financial constraints, he volunteered to work with the players whenever they come home.

#“He wants to instil in them the importance of coming home and getting some basketball workout in so that when they do go back to school, their game would not have decreased any,” Swaby said.

#“We know when they go back for January, this is the important time for the year, especially Rhema, to get her in some frame of mind when she heads to Ole Miss. She’s going to be something special.”

#The 17-year-old Collins, who represented the Bahamas at the 2019 Centrobasket Under-17 Women’s Championships at the age of 24, has committed to play for Ole Miss, headed by Bahamian coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin beginning in August.

#She will follow in the footsteps of point guard Valerie Nesbitt, who played for the Rebels two years ago.

#“I’m really confident in my decision. I trust her a lot as a coach and as a person,” said Coillins about the decision to go to Ole Miss with McPhee-McCuin.

#“Looking at the other options I had and after hearing all of the great things about her, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go there.”

#While she waits for that opportunity to take place next year, Collins said she’s eager to get going with her high school experience.

#“Things have been going very well. My grades are very good, and basketball is going very well,” she noted. “I just been having a fun season.”

#Hopefully in the future, Collins will continue to improve and eventually become the next Bahamian to join Jonquel Jones from Grand Bahama in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) or at least in the professional ranks of basketball.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/dec/26/basketball-standout-rhema-collins-prepares-ole-mis/?news=

As of Thursday, December 22, 2022

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#It will be youth versus experience and Grand Bahama vs New Providence when rising teenager Denali Nottage faces former champion Kevin Major Jr in the men’s final of the 2022 Giorgio Baldacci Open Nationals.

#The tournament, hosted by the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association, will come to a close today at the National Tennis Centre when the women’s champions will be decided as well in a rematch of last year’s finals between champion Sydney Clarke and runners-up Elana Mackey.

#In what was the longest matched played so far during the week, Nottage survived a grueling three setter against fellow Grand Bahamian Rodney Carey in a marathon affair, while Major Jr got by fellow veteran Davis Cup player and captain Marvin Rolle in two sets in Wednesday’s semifinals.

#The winner of the men’s title will automatically earn a spot on the national team that will represent the Bahamas at the Davis Cup competition and the women’s winner will book her ticket to the Billie Jean King Cup.

#The BLTA has not announced as yet how the other spots on the teams will be determined, but it’s expected that another qualifying tournament will take place next year before the teams travel.

#Nottage in three

#over Carey Jr

#Nottage, who made his debut in the tournament with an exit in the quarterfinals, breathed a sigh of relief when he dropped an ace to hold serve and secure the game, set and match, much to the applauds of the crowd that endured almost three hours of an exciting match.

#In the end, Nottage had just prevailed with a 7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-5 win over an equally exhausted Carey as both players noted how glad they didn’t have to battle through another tie breaker.

#“This one was one. I knew I was facing one of the toughest players in the Bahamas in Rodney Carey,” said Nottage, who will celebrate his 19th birthday on Saturday. “I just had to fight until the end. “The main goal was to hold serve. There was a couple of times when I was down love-30 (0-30), but I just had to hold serve.”

#Holding serve was a major problem for both players, especially at the end of the first two sets. Nottage broke Carey Jr to level the score and force the tie breaker.

#Then in the second set, Carey Jr returned the favour as he broke Nottage, but this time he pushed the match to the decisive third set.

#In the final set, Nottage had taken a 3-1 up a break, but Carey Jr got the break back for a 4-4 tie. Carey Jr held serve on an ace for a 5-4 lead, but Nottage withstood the challenge and broke again for a 6-5 lead and then completed the match with the ace as he held serve.

#“This year, I’m in the final, so it’s an improvement,” said Nottage, who is currently enrolled at the Bill Adams Tennis Academy in Pembroke Pines, Florida, after he graduated from St George’s High School. “This year, I’m a little more mature, so I was looking forward to playing the tournament.”

#For Carey Jr, who made his return after a little hiatus from the game, said he thought they both played very well. He said he was disappointed in his performance because he blew the opportunity to win the first two sets.

#“Having to go three sets, I knew it was going to be tough,” Carey Jr insisted. “I did good to stay in there to take it to the distance, so I’m happy with that. But I’m not too upset about it.”

#Carey Jr, 30, said he’s happy to see Nottage playing at such a high level and his father Daniel Nottage, who coached many of the players in Grand Bahama, was just as elated watching on the sidelines.

#With just a day to let it sink in that he’s into the final, Nottage said the only thing he wants to do now is “get some rest,” because it’s not going to be easy against Major Jr, so “I just have to come out fighting again.”

#Major Jr sweeps

#Marvin Rolle

#Even though he admitted that Major Jr would come out victorious the day before in his quarterfinal victory, Rolle still came out and provided a stiff challenge, even if it was just for one set.

#Major Jr, the younger of the two competitors, pulled off a 6-4, 6-1 win, but he gave a lot of credit to Rolle.

#“Playing Marvin is always tricky. He’s a nice guy, but he always has blood in his eyes, so you always have to be careful,” Major Jr said.

#“So, I was ready for a fight, and I got a fight.

#“I just think he pulled back off the gas because to maintain that world-class level is not that easy and that was how I was able to take control of the match.”

#Major Jr, the tournament 2019 winner over Baker Newman, said he expected to reach the final because he came home well prepared from his training in Tampa, Florida.

#“I’m looking forward to playing Davis Cup next year and all of the tournaments I can get into,” Major Jr said.

#“I love playing other people than Bahamians. I know what I can do against Bahamians. I’m ready to take on the world.”

#Rolle, the savvy 39-year-old, said he took the match to the 27-year-old Major Jr up to the ninth game and then it just slipped away from him.

#“Kevin is tough. That’s why he’s considered one of the best players we have right now,” Rolle said. “Between him and Justin Roberts, is our best player, so it was a good win for him.”

#Rolle said while he would have preferred to be on the other side of the draw so that he could have ended up possibly facing Major Jr in the final and not the semifinals, he will look forward to the next trials to try and secure his spot on another Davis Cup team.

As of Thursday, December 22, 2022

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#WHEN they are not playing each other or teaming up together in doubles, close cousins Saphire and Breann Ferguson are on the sidelines cheering for one another.

#The daughters of two brothers – Barron and Bjorn Ferguson – recalled how they got introduced to the sport of tennis by their grandfather Roscoe Ferguson, whom they call “pappa.”

#“At first I didn’t like it that much, but then I started to fall in love with it,” said Saphire, who was around seven years old when she touched the tennis racket for the first time at the National Tennis Centre.

#Saphire, the older of the two at 15, said they’ve had some hiccups playing the sport over the years, but now they are seeing some light through the tunnel, which is giving them some glimmer of hope to become the players their “pappa” envisioned.

#“It’s all about the progress,” said Saphire as they both made their debut in the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s 2022 Giorgio Baldacci Open Nationals at the National Tennis Centre.

#They both lost their first-round matches and were forced to play in the consolation round to determine their final standings.

#While Breann Ferguson, who will turn 15 on January 6, ended up in fourth place, Saphire Ferguson was fifth.

#With the open as a challenge for both players to improve their game, the junior national team players are eager to play in their own age group where they occasionally play against each other and as a team whenever doubles are scheduled.

#“Whenever we play each other and one wins over the other, we just hold it in. We probably won’t talk to each other for about five minutes,” Breann Ferguson said.

#“It’s not a competition against each other for us because we are trying to better each other.”

#As the elder of the two, Saphire Ferguson said the goal is to “push each other.”

#For Breann Ferguson, her progress has been steady. “I think it could always be better. You could always be improving, but up to this point, I feel very good about my progress,” said Breann Ferguson, a ninth grader at St John’s College.

#As they look ahead to the future, the Ferguson cousins said they would like to see not just one of them, but both of them be competing for the national title when they return home from college and before they pursue a professional career in the sport.

#“I would like to become a sports therapist,” said Saphire Ferguson, who admitted that because she’s been to one so much, she’s got accustomed to it, and she would certainly like to help others.

#After losing to collegian Elana Ferguson in the first round of the tournament, Saphire said she learned a valuable lesson.

#“You have to always focus on getting better because even when you think you’re good, there’s always someone out there that is at a different level, so you have to continue to train hard,” she stressed.

#“I just have to concentrate on playing my pressure points better.”

#None of them were under more pressure than Breann Ferguson, who had to take on the top seed and defending champion Sydney Clarke where she lost to the collegian in the second round after knocking off Calia Bowe in the first round.

#“Even though I didn’t win (against Clarke), I just wanted to play better in that match than I did in the first match (against Bowe). I just need to definitely use my footwork and be more consistent with my strokes.”

#Although they are pushed by their parents, the Ferguson cousins said “pappa” Ferguson takes the time out to work them out in doubles every chance he gets. Right now, they are making the best of every opportunity to get to improve their game.

As of Thursday, December 22, 2022

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#DURING the Christmas holiday, instead of taking time off to relax and enjoy the festivities, the Nassau Rowing Club will be busy entertaining the Sparks Rowing Camp for the second consecutive year.

#The camp, scheduled for December 27-30, will be staged at the NRC’s headquarters at Oaks Hills Road, according to Kyle Chea, the president of the association.

#Building on the success of the inaugural camp last year, Chea said coordinator Ryan Sparks will be bringing 24 American high school coxswains to hone their skills under the direction of coaches from Dartmouth, Cambridge and Boston University.

#“This is proof-positive that rowing is developing into a solid pillar for sports tourism in The Bahamas,” Chea said.

#Rowers and alumni from both the NRC and the Windsor School will be collaborating with the visitors during the camp when the sessions take place between 9-11am and 1-3pm on December 28-29, and from 9am to noon prior to the campers’ and staff departure on December 30.

#Last year, an opportunity came up for Sparks Rowing to help with the acquisition of two shells – one for Nassau Rowing Club and one for Windsor School – such that they could hold an inaugural camp in December 2022.

#“We were very pleased to still be able to successfully execute the camp in compliance with the increased restrictions around the COVID surge, and it was so popular Sparks was able to expand the offering,” Chea said.

#“We’re very lucky to be able to work with the pre-eminent operator of rowing camps in the US, and arguably the world.

#“It’s even better for our young Bahamian rowers who are helping to fill the boats as the coxswains hone their skills steering, commanding and strategising.”

#Chea further noted that the coaches a brand like Sparks is able to attract is unmatched.

#He revealed that this year, coaches from Boston University, Dartmouth and Cambridge are coming to provide a unique opportunity for the local rowers, who would have to spend thousands of dollars just to meet them separately.

#“With our community rowing and public-school outreach focus, Nassau RC wants to bring as much of the rowing world to the island so that our rowers can expand their horizons and broaden their athletic and educational goals,” Chea stated.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/dec/22/sparks-rowing-camp-set-december-27-30/?news