The so-called best senior men's national team in quite some time, looked like minced meat against what was suppose to be a subpar opponent yesterday, on the second day of competition in the Confederation Basketball Confederation (CBC) Senior Championships in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
Antigua and Barbuda slammed The Bahamas, 90-68, and now the team is in serious danger of not advancing to the Centrobasket Championships to continue its Olympic journey. Even the commentators on CaribVision termed it a huge upset, as the defending silver medalists were humiliated. They were competitive in the first half, but fell victim to turnovers, particularly in the second half, and struggled in guarding the perimeter throughout.
It was a crushing blow for Team Bahamas. They must defeat Cuba by at least 23 points today, or hope for an unlikely Antigua and Barbuda blowout loss against St. Vincent and the Grenadines, to have any chance of advancing to the medal rounds and keeping their hopes alive for a second consecutive berth to Centrobasket.
"Poor guard play," was Assistant Coach Mario Bowleg's response when contacted last night. "Some guys just didn't come to play. They must think they (are) on a honeymoon or something. Antigua realized the importance of this game, and they came out and played as if their backs were against the wall. Their guards punished our guards. We didn't fight like we wanted it. These guys have to realize this is not on a honeymoon trip and they can't take any team lightly. We just have to show up and play. It's as simple as that."
The Antiguans turned the Multipurpose Sports Complex in Tortola into their own little playground as they beat The Bahamas to the ball at every turn. The Antiguans forced turnovers and bad shots; their team was efficient from the outside, and even scored inside against the much larger Bahamian team. The score was just 40-37 in favor of Antigua and Barbuda at the half, but Antigua and Barbuda outscored The Bahamas 22-13 in the third quarter and 28-18 in the fourth. The Antiguan team shot 11-for-31 from the three-point line, while The Bahamas was just 5-for-21. The Antiguans put up nine more shots than The Bahamas and shot a much better percentage from the floor.
Ernest Scott had a great game for them, with a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds. Mario Davis came off the bench to score 13, and Jerome Richardson and Sharife Sergeant had 12 apiece.
Marvin Gray led The Bahamas with 18 points. Alonzo "CJ" Hinds scored 12, and Eugene Bain had 10.
The Bahamas will play Cuba in the team's next game at 6:45 p.m. this evening in Tortola. Not only is the team in a must-win situation, but the players must win convincingly. The Bahamas must win by at least 23 points or have St. Vincent and the Grenadines beat Antigua and Barbuda by at least 23 to have any chance of making it to the medal rounds and advancing to the Centrobasket Championships, which will be played later this summer.
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