The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

SEVERAL Bahamian pro basketball players have returned to the court in their respective leagues in Europe for preseason play ahead of their 2020-21 campaigns.

Lashann Higgs officially began her rookie season with Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM in Spain’s Liga Femenina Endesa, the top division of women’s basketball in the country.

Higgs scored 14 points to help her club to an 87-61 win over Club Deportivo Zamarart in her debut.

The Liga Femenina Endesa includes 14 teams and a 26-game regular season.

The top eight teams make the playoffs, while the bottom two seeds are relegated to the second division.

Pepe Vazquez, head coach of the club, said he expects Higgs to provide an immediate impact with her versatility.

“She is a very good level player,” he said at Biembre Digital at the time of her acquisition. “She is a very physical and explosive player. Extraordinary out in the open and on the run...I like her defensive intensity. She is versatile, a combo that can play either guard position.”

Dominick Bridgewater made his debut with Sapela Basket 13 of France’s Nationale Masculine 2 (NM2) League.

Bridgewater, a member of the For-Sur-Mer Provence Byers Club, was placed on loan to Sapela Basket 13 this offseason and his promotion to NM2 is the highest of his career thus far.

Sapela has played exhibitions against the Byers and St Valliers thus far and Bridgewater has seen substantial playing time at point guard.

It has been a seamless transition to the professional level for the 20-year-old Bridgewater after standout seasons as a member of the Byers’ Epoirs (Junior League – U21) and NM3 League teams.

“We are pleased to be able to official the loan of our young leader Bahamian, Domnick R Bridgewater,” the Byers said in the official announcement.

“Domnick will be able to complete his training in NM2 under the orders of the former assistant of Giuitta Rémi, Alexandre Casimiri.”

Veteran national team player Kentwan Smith also plays in the NM2 League and re-signed with Garonne ASPTT for a second consecutive season.

He got off to a quick start in the preseason and made his first three field goals of their debut.

In 16 games with the club last season, he averaged 12.9 points per game and Garonne ended the regular season with the second-best record in the league.

Smith’s pro career has taken him to five different countries on three different continents.