The Tribune

The top ranked Bahamas men’s national basketball team, arguably one of the best teams ever selected, posted an impressive 41-point rout over Cuba to start the FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament in La Banda, Argentina.

Last night, with three of the four National Basketball Association players in the starting line-up, The Bahamas pounded Cuba for a convincing 109-68 victory.

Without the service of forward Kai Jones from the Charlotte Hornets, head coach Chris DeMarco, an assistant with the Golden State Warriors, utilised a line-up that featured guard Chavano ‘Buddy’ Hield of the Indiana Pacers and centre Deandre Ayton and guard Eric Gordon of the Phoenix Suns, along with guard Lourawls ‘Tum Tum’ Nairn and forward Travis Munnings.

The Bahamas, ranked as the top seed at the tournament, got off to a slow start and they only led 20-16 at the end of the first quarter. But they turned things around in the second quarter and went into the locker room up 46-28.

At the end of the third quarter, the Bahamas had extended their lead to 79-46.

The Bahamas hit the century mark with 3:46 left in the fourth quarter for a 101-60 lead and they went on cruise control the rest of the way.

Hield finished with a game high 24 points in a little over 27 minutes with six rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals. Ayton netted 22 points in 25-plus minutes with 10 rebounds, two assists and a steal and Gordon, in his debut for the Bahamas in 24 minutes, had 17 points, four assists and two rebounds.

Also helping out in the well-rounded effort by Team Bahamas in double figures were Franco Miller Jr with 18 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal, while Kentwan Smith had 10 points and four rebounds.

Munnings contributed seven points with two rebounds and as many steals and Domnick Bridgewater also had seven points. David Nesbitt was the only other player to score with four points.

The four other players on the team, who played but didn’t score, were Nairn, Garvin Clarke Jr, Rashad Davis and Jaraun ‘Kino’ Burrows. To their credits, Nairn dished out seven rebounds and Burrows pulled down four rebounds.

The team’s assistant coaches are Mikhail McLean and Moses Johnson.

Cuba had two players in double figures, led by Karel Guzman with 16 points, four rebounds and three assists. Pedro Bombino was the other player with 14 points and five rebounds.

The Bahamas will have a day off today and return to their final game in pool A against Argentina on Wednesday. There are only three teams in their Group.

However, there are four teams in Group B, consisting of Uruguay, Chile, US Virgin Islands and Colombia.

The top two teams in each group will advance to the playoffs that start on Saturday and are completed on Sunday when the winner will book their ticket to the Men’s Olympic Qualifying Basketball Tournament in Paris, France, July 26 to August 11 next year.