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Wednesday, July 1, 2009

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Bahamas barely gets by Barbados By DAHALIA SMITH ~ NG Sports Reporter ~ dahalia@nasguard.com: The Bahamas used an 11-2 scoring run to build a 13-point fourth quarter lead against regional foes Barbados last night, but had to hold on nonetheless in the waning seconds. The Bajans executed a frantic rally late in the game, but missed a shot at the end of regulation which would have forced overtime. As a result, The Bahamas came out on top, 75-73, in their opening game of the 20th Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Senior Men Basketball Championships in Tortola, British Virgin Islands (BVI). Alonzo 'CJ' Hinds paced the country with 15 points, four assists and three steals last night, and Brian Bain dropped in a dozen points 12 including a clutch free shot with just seconds left on the clock, which gave the Bahamas a four-point lead. Jeremy Hutchinson added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Kelvin Patterson led Barbados with 15 points, and Sydney Rowe added 13 points and seven rebounds. The Bahamas shot just 50 percent from the free shot line (12-for-24), but Barbados wasn't much better at 55 percent (12-for-22). The game was pretty much even throughout, but The Bahamas got careless late, allowing Barbados to fight back into the game. The Bahamas led 27-23 after the first quarter, 43-37 at the half, and 65-52 at the end of three quarters, before Barbados stormed back in the fourth. Coaches and players were unavailable for comment after the game last night. A top three finish in the championships would advance The Bahamas to the Centro Basket Championships. The national team touched down in Tortola on Monday, and immediately got to work at the multi-purpose Sports Complex. Seven other teams are at the tournament, which is expected to wrap up Saturday, July 4. The Bahamas is in Pool 'A' along with Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Teams in Pool 'B' include Cuba, Antigua and Barbuda, BVI, and Bermuda. Players representing The Bahamas are Quentin 'Three Ounce' Hall, Scott Forbes, Bennett Davis, Alonzo 'CJ' Hinds, Doyle Hudson, Torrington Cox, Cordero Seymour, Jeffery Henfield, Brian Bain, Jeremy Hutchinson, Quentin Demeritte and Gjio Bain. The Head Coach is Grand Bahamian Charles 'Softly' Rubins, and he is assisted by Mario Bowleg and Ivan Butler. Rodney Wilson is the Team Manager and Sharon Storr traveled as the Technical Director. Before the game against Barbados last night, Rubins scouted the competition and gave a general assessment to The Nassau Guardian. "After arriving in BVI late Monday night, the guys looked upbeat and are ready to go. We had a workout this morning (Tuesday) at 9:30 a.m. Going into tournament play they look sharp and the jump shots look good," said Rubins, prior to last night's game. He was unavailable for comment after the game last night. According to Rubins, Hall is expected to be the starting point guard. He was expected to be joined on the opening night starting line-up by Seymour, Forbes, Bain and Hutchinson. "Right now, I am watching the game between Jamaica and Trinidad," said Rubins. "We are supposed to be facing Trinidad Wednesday (today). All of these teams are very tall, large and physical. In comparison, The Bahamas team appears to be the smallest one here next to Cuba. The Jamaican and Trinidadian teams are very big. The only big man we have is Gjio Bain but I feel as if guys like Hutchinson, Forbes and Davis who are between 6'5" - 6'7" should be a good help to us. Furthermore, once we play good defence we should do well. We are a very athletic team. We are also depending on our quickness and experience to take us through," he added. At the last CBC Championships in Jamaica, The Bahamas placed fourth, but was still given an invite to the next level, the Centro Basket Championships, with the sudden withdrawal of the Dominican Republic. At the Centro Basket Championships, The Bahamas lost the bronze medal game to Cuba. In related news, the 2nd Bahamas Basketball Federation (BBF) Independence Basketball Tournament is on tap to be held from July 9-12. The tourney is expected to feature teams in three different age groups, under-12, under-18 and open. Last year, the College All-stars beat a team out of Grand Bahama for the championship in the men's division. In the women's division, a New Providence based team won the title against the College All-stars. Wednesday, July 1, 2009