The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

JUST on the heels of some of the top NCAA men’s basketball programmes visiting the country, Bahamian high school basketball players are having their opportunity to play on the floor of Atlantis’ Imperial Arena thanks to a partnership between the resort and KSA Events.

KSA Events is currently hosting the third edition of the Beach Bash and Sand Jam at the resort, featuring a group of local teams and visitors from Canada and the United States.

Hosted for just one week in this year’s edition, the 2015 lineup will get underway for Bahamian teams 4pm today when the St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine senior girls will take on the Brock High School Eagles out of Brock, Texas.

Friday at 4pm in senior boys’ play, the CI Gibson Rattlers take on the Oakwood Gorillas from North Hollywood, California.

At 7pm, HO Nash Lions junior girls face the Lexington Catholic Knights out of Lexington, Kentucky.

On Saturday, both Queen’s College and SAC will face Southern Regional from Manahawkin, New Jersey at 4pm and 5:30pm respectively.

In 2014, the event was staged over a three-week period and two of the local teams won against their international counterparts in that series.

The Rattlers defeated Ralston Valley out of Colorado in their senior boys’ matchup on December 6 and the Big Red Machine won 41-16 over Adam Scott out of Canada in a senior girls’ game on November 29.

Whittington Brown, the local representative, has been responsible for putting the local tournament together for the international organisers Todd and Kelly Hayes who have their headquarters based in Orlando, Florida.

Although KSA features games in baseball, volleyball, field hockey, football, basketball and lacrosse, the Bahamas is only designated to host basketball games, but Brown said they are looking at branching out in the future to include more of the sporting disciplines, once they can secure the proper facility like they have at Atlantis to host the games.

Additionally, Brown said KSA also provides scholarships to the local players ranging from $1,000-$10,000 and that is something that they hope will be an incentive for the players as they look forward to the future.