The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

In an historic performance on the hardwood, the Bahamas claimed the Caribbean Basketball Confederation Championship and successfully completed the first step toward their lofty goal of Olympic qualification in 2016.

The Bahamas defeated Cuba 75-64 in the gold medal game at the Multipurpose Complex in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, led by a combined 44 points from the backcourt of Marvin Gray and Alonzo Hinds. Gray finished with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists while Hinds’ 22 points included 4-4 shooting from three-point range and 6-6 shooting from the free throw line. Magnum Rolle finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, Kadeem Coleby added 11 points, while Mitch Johnson chipped in with four points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

Jasiel Rivero was the lone Cuban in double figures with 15 points and seven rebounds.

By finishing among the three teams in the tournament, the Bahamas will advance to the 2014 Centrobasket Championship, in Nayarit, Mexico, August 1-7. It was the seventh time a Bahamian men’s national team has captured the CBC title in tournament history, and the first time since 1995.

Hines got out to a quick start when he connected on a three pointer on the Bahamas’ opening possession and scored the first five points of the game. Neither team led by more than four in a back and forth opening quarter.

A pair of free throws from Coleby gave the Bahamas a 14-10 lead, but Cuba closed the final three minutes on 7-0 to take a 17-14 lead after one.

Defensively, the Bahamas limited Cuba to their lowest scoring quarter of the game when they allowed just 12 points in the second. With the Bahamas clinging to a one point lead in the final minute of the half, Coleby made a baseline jumper and on the ensuing possession finished an assist from Gray with a rim rattling dunk over a pair of defenders. The Bahamas took a 34-29 lead at the half.

In the third, the Bahamas took a lead of double figures for the first time when they opened the quarter on a 5-0 run, capped by a Coleby free throw for a 39-29 lead.

Cuba trimmed the lead down to as little as four when Alexis Mestre made a three from the corner to make the score 47-43 with 2:33 left in the quarter.

The Bahamas would again close the period strong when Hinds drove the lane and finished with a crowd raising one handed dunk over 6’10” Cuban centre Javier Justiz.

Coleby followed with a long range two pointer and the Bahamas took the momentum and a 51-43 lead into the fourth. Cuba never threatened in the final period and the lead grew to as much as 14 when Gray finished a conventional three point play for a 71-57 lead.

Both teams shot 39 per cent from the field, but the Bahamas edged out Cuba with one more made field goal and one more three point make. Relatively even in every major statistical category, the Bahamas held an eight point advantage at the free throw line where they shot 18-24 at 75 per cent.

In his first tournament as Bahamas head coach, Colorado State’s Larry Eustachy finished with a 4-1 record. The team opened with an 84-53 win over St Vincent and the Grenadines, led by a game high 14 points from Hinds, 12 points from Bennet Davis and 11 points from Eugene Bain.

Game two produced a shocking upset as the Bahamas fell 90-68 to Antigua and Barbuda for their lone win of the tournament. Gray finished with 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bahamas while Hinds added 12 and Bain came off the bench to finish with 10.

Ernest Scott led five Antiguans in double figures with 25 points and nine rebounds.

The Bahamas responded with their most complete game of the tournament and advanced to the medal round with a 77-71 win over Cuba, led by 26 points from Rolle. Coleby and Ray Rose each chipped in with 17.

In the semi-finals, the Bahamas clinched a berth to the Centrobasket tournament with an 85-64 win over the host country, BVI. Gray led four Bahamian players in double figures with 17 points. Coleby finished with 15, Rolle and Hinds added 13 respectively while Johnson added nine points and five assists.

For the tournament, Rolle averaged 13.8 points, seven rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. Gray also finished at 13.8 points and added 4.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. Hinds scored 13.4 points per game while Coleby averaged 10.8.

Ten teams will participate in the 2014 Centrobasket Championship for men, which will serve as a qualification for the 2015 Tournament of Americas. The Bahamas will compete in Group B alongside the US Virgin Islands, El Salvador, Puerto Rico and host country Mexico. Group A will include Jamaica, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.