Home|Sports|The Bahamas is highly rankedSports
Team will face Cuba in their first game tonight
Simba FrenchSend an emailAugust 14, 2023 1 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
Heading into the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournaments, The Bahamas is the top ranked team in this region, according to FIBA Americas, despite not being ranked high in the world rankings. The Bahamas’ team includes four National Basketball Association (NBA) players.
The Bahamas is in Argentina and has already hosted practice sessions and played in scrimmage games. They will get action underway in the pre-qualifying tournament tonight with a matchup against Cuba at 9:10 p.m. The game will be played at the Estadio Ciudad de Santiago del Estero in Santiago del Estero, Argentina.
The Bahamas’ roster features NBA players DeAndre Ayton and Eric Gordon of the Phoenix Suns, Chavano ‘Buddy’ Hield of the Indiana Pacers and Kai Jones of the Charlotte Hornets.
“Both Hield and Gordon can handle the ball and bomb three-pointers, while also holding up very well on defense, and in the interior, Ayton and Jones are athletic, dominant and capable of doing damage in the low post and in the midrange,” the FIBA Americas article stated. “Combining those with a slate of solid and experienced role players (Mychel Thompson, Travis Munnings, David Nesbitt) makes for an explosive recipe in what could end up being The Bahamas’ best performance ever.”
Ayton has not played for The Bahamas in seven years and Gordon is playing for The Bahamas for the first time ever. Apart from that, the team is familiar with playing with each other having done so in previous tournaments.
The other players on The Bahamas’ team are Dominick Bridgewater, Jaraun ‘Kino’ Burrows, Garvin Clarke, Kadeem Coleby, Radshad Davis, Sammy Hunter, Danrad Knowles, Lourawls ‘Tum Tum’ Nairn, Willis Mackey Jr., Franco Miller, Kentwan Smith and AJ Storr.
Argentina is the second ranked team followed by Uruguay.
The Bahamas is in Group A with Cuba and host country Argentina. Panama, who was in Group A, pulled out from the tournament. Group B consists of Uruguay, the US Virgin Islands, Chile and Colombia. The top two teams from both groups will advance to the semifinals to be played on Saturday. The final is set for Sunday and the winner will get a berth in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, joining 19 FIBA Basketball World Cup teams, to compete for a spot in the Paris Olympic Games, from July 2-7, 2024.
The Bahamas played Argentina twice in 2022 in the FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas Qualifiers – one away and one at home. The Bahamas lost both games. The first game which was played last year summer. Hield and Jones suited up, and The Bahamas fell, 95-77. The second game was played without the NBA players in November in The Bahamas and Argentina won, 80-76.
The last time The Bahamas played Cuba was in July 2021 in the FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas Pre-Qualifiers in San Salvador, El Salvador. The Bahamas nipped Cuba, 89-88, in the opening game of that tournament.
In preparation for the tournament, The Bahamas played two scrimmage games against the University of Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team. They lost the first game, 92-87, on Saturday August 5 and won the second, 87-81, on Monday August 7.