By RENALDO DORSETT
Tribune Sports Reporter
rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
Two Bahamian senior men’s national basketball team players got their postseasons off to successful starts.
Tavario Miller and Minas Belo Horizonte took a 2-1 series lead over Unifacisa in Brazil’s Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) quarterfinals.
In game one, he finished with six points and five rebounds of an 85-65 win. He followed with 22 points and seven rebounds in a 90-81 game two loss before 13 points and six rebounds in Tuesday night’s 88-85 win. They look to close out the series in game four Saturday night.
Minas finished the regular ranked third in the league at 25-7.
The team also finished third in the FIBA Basketball Champions League of the Americas with a win over Quisima in the bronze medal game last month.
In his first season with the club, Miller is averaging 11.5 points and seven rebounds per game on 65 percent shooting from the field. Prior to Brazil, the former Texas A and M Aggie played professionally in Argentina, Uruguay, Spain, Norway and Mexico. Zane Knowles continues his successful return to the court this season in his brief stint thus far with Levski Sofia of Bulgaria’s NBL.
Knowles finished with a dominant 28-point, eight-rebound performance in a 116-74 win over Beroe in the first game of the quarterfinals.
His statline was highlighted by first three-point field goal of his career.
In seven games since he returned to play, Knowles has returned to form with averages of 16.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
Last season while preparing for the season in Hungary with Zalakerámia ZTE KK, Knowles sought treatment for what he described as a minor hamstring injury when doctors discovered a rare Arteriovenous Fistula (AVF) that required surgery.
In a busy 2019-20 season, Knowles played in three leagues and two countries before the COVID-19 pandemic brought basketball to an end globally. He concluded the campaign in his first stint with Levaki.
In just two games with the club, he averaged 13 points, seven rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
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