Player pool named for Team Bahamas

The Bahamas now has a pool of 24 athletes to choose from for the next window of the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) AmeriCup 2022 Qualifiers.

The third and final leg is set for next month right here in The Bahamas, at which time, the country’s senior men’s national basketball team will play host to Puerto Rico and the United States of America (USA). At least a split is vital in securing qualification for the FIBA AmeriCup 2022 as The Bahamas dropped to fourth in Group D behind the United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico at the conclusion of the last window of qualifying.

The Bahamas has a 1-3 win/loss record through the first four games in the qualifiers with their only victory coming over Mexico here at home. During the last leg in Indianapolis, Indiana, they were blasted by the United States and lost a close game to Puerto Rico in which they were shut out 15-0 in the final five and a half minutes of the game.

Listed in the player pool for this final round are Elyjah Clark, L.J. Rose, Dominick Bridgewater, D’Shon Taylor, Michael Carey, Travis Munnings, Kentwan Smith, Mychel Thompson, Nathan Bain, Kadeem Coleby, Dwight Coleby, Willis Mackey Jr., Nashad Mackey, Tavario Miller, David Nesbitt, Jaron Cornish, Godfrey Rolle III, Zane Knowles, Shaquille Cleare, Corey Sands, Ahmad Pratt, Adam Johnson, J.R. Cadot and Kemsey Sylvestre.

Noticeably absent are the country’s two most high-profiled players – NBA players Chavano ‘Buddy’ Hield and DeAndre Ayton. Both will be in season with their respective teams in the National Basketball 

Association (NBA).

As for group play, the United States leads the standings with an unblemished 4-0 record, securing eight points. Mexico is second with a 2-2 record and six points, and Puerto Rico and The Bahamas are tied with identical 1-3 records and five points each. Just the top three nations will advance to the 2022 FIBA AmeriCup Tournament.

The Bahamas wins a tiebreaker with Mexico and will have to beat Puerto Rico by more than six points to ensure that it advances ahead of Puerto Rico should both of them end up in a tie.

In The Bahamas’ last game, they were in prime position to reach the doorstep of qualification and put Puerto Rico on the brink of elimination but couldn’t hold on to an 85-76 lead with 5:43 remaining in the game. A series of turnovers and missed free shots down the stretch led to their unraveling at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.

Puerto Rico outscored The Bahamas 15-0 in the final five and a half minutes to record the impressive come-from-behind win.

Prior to that, The Bahamas built the 85-76 lead on the strength of a 10-1 scoring run but went ice cold the rest of the way. In total, The Bahamas had six turnovers, went 0-for-5 from the field, including four missed shots from three-point range, and was 0-for-4 from the charity stripe in the final 5:43 of the game. For the game, The Bahamas had 20 turnovers.

It would have been one of the biggest wins for The Bahamas in the history of men’s basketball in the country. Puerto Rico is ranked at number 18 in the FIBA World Rankings while The Bahamas is at number 59. The United States is the top ranked nation in the world and Mexico is at number 24.

The Head Coach of The Bahamas’ team is Golden State Warriors Assistant Coach Chris DeMarco.

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