HEAVY rain showers and thunderstorm activity from Tropical Storm Emily, which is passing near Florida, caused significant flooding in Grand Bahama on Monday.

BTC has joined forces with the Grand Bahama Tourism Board and the Office of the PM on Grand Bahama for a new venture geared at showcasing the island's amazing musical and entertainment talent.

Dubbed 'A Taste of Port Lucaya' the event which will launch on August 3rd in Count Basie Square will be hosted by Social Media Sensation Sawyer Boy and feature performances from the likes of Stileet, Wilfred Solomon and the Police Pop Band in a bid to attract locals and visitors to the vibrant Port Lucaya Marketplace.

Northern Bahamas VP Eldri Ferguson-Mackey is pictured (Seated, Second from the right) along with other stakeholders including Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Hon. Kwasi Thompson!(Photograph courtesy of BTC for Barefoot Marketing)

In a tight 84 - 77 victory the Northeastern division wins the overall 9th Annual Sprite Basketball Tournament Championship game to the Western Division for the second consecutive year.

For the ninth year Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producer of Coca-Cola products, collaborated with the Royal Bahamas Police Force to bring together the nine districts of New Providence in the annual Sprite Basketball Tournament.

For the past four weeks, young men from across the island worked together in teams to win the coveted title of “Sprite Basketball Champions”, while learning new skills, practicing discipline and sportsmanship in a friendly, safe environment.

“Over the past nine years the Sprite Basketball Tournament has become a highlight of our Summer program.

This program not only allows us, as the police body, to pass on valuable team building and professional skills to young men, but it also helps us to foster relationships with these young men, which is invaluable” says ASP Johnson, of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

“Without CBC’s continued support in organizing and financing this entire program, none of this would have been possible.”



“The Sprite Basketball tournament was created by CBC as a way to offer support to the neighborhoods across New Providence that we serve,” Cara Douglas, CBC Marketing Manager explains. 

“Each of the individual districts were looking for corporate support for summer events in their areas, and we saw a great opportunity to bring the districts together around a positive event, basketball.

CBC rightly believed this would foster a deeper relationship between the young men, their communities, and the police that serve their community.

This tournament is a safe and supportive environment for young men to participate in each summer, and we are so proud to continue to support it with the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

”

The Northeastern Division came out the victors of this year’s tournament with an 84 – 77 win over the Southern Division team.

Jevaughn Ferguson, of the Northeaster Division basketball team, was name the winner of the Sprite Sportsmanship Award, and Dario Saunders is the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Each player in the Tournament received a Sprite gift bag for their participation, while the winning teams walked away with medals, a case of Sprite soda, and a G-Shock watch or Sports Center Gift Card, for the first and second placed teams respectfully.

All members of the winning team also got a passes to participate in the 2017 Buddy Heild Basketball Workshop on July 28th and 29th.

Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producer of Coca-Cola, is the Bahamas’ premier beverage non-alcoholic manufacturer and distributor. CBC and its predecessor companies have serviced the Bahamas with Coca-Cola products for over 75 years. In addition to the distribution of the Coca-Cola product line, CBC also offers Schweppes, Fanta, Sprite, Barq’s Root Beer, Dr. Pepper, Goombay Punch, Barritt’s Ginger Beer, Canada Dry, Dasani, Minute Maid, Powerade, Vitamin Water, and Flavorful Juices.

This is a News Item on Tropical Storm Emily issued by The Bahamas Department of Meteorology Forecast Office Section, at noon Monday, July 31st, 2017.

… Emily is approaching the mouth of Tampa Bay...heavy rainfall expected ove the Central and Southern Florida Peninsula...

At 11 AM EDT, THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM EMILY WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 27.6° NORTH AND LONGITUDE 82.8° WEST OR ABOUT 35 MILES SOUTHWEST OF TAMPA FLORIDA AND ABOUT 30 MILES NORTHWEST OF SARASOTA FLORIDA.

TROPICAL STORM EMILY IS MOVING TOWARD THE EAST NEAR 9 MILES PER HOUR (MPH) AND THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TODAY. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTHEAST WITH AN INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED ARE EXPECTED BY TONIGHT AND TUESDAY.

ON THE FORECAST TRACK, THE CENTER OF EMILY IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INLAND OVER THE WEST-CENTRAL FLORIDA PENINSULA THIS AFTERNOON AND MOVE ACROSS CENTRAL FLORIDA THROUGH TONIGHT. EMILY IS FORECAST TO MOVE OFFSHORE OF THE EAST-CENTRAL FLORIDA COAST TUESDAY MORNING.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 45 (MPH) WITH HIGHER GUSTS. LITTLE CHANGE IN STRENGTH IS FORECAST UNTIL LANDFALL OCCURS THIS AFTERNOON.

EMILY IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN TO A TROPICAL DEPRESSION WHILE IT MOVES ACROSS THE FLORIDA PENINSULA LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT.

TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND UP TO 60 MILES FROM THE CENTER.

THE NEXT NEWS ITEM WILL BE ISSUED AT 6PM.