Bahamas finishes second

By SHELDON LONGLEY,NG Sports Reporter

Team Bahamas lost the gold medal game at the Centrobasket Championships in Caguas, Puerto Rico, last night but accomplished its main goal. By advancing that far, the team secured for itself of a spot at the Tournament of the Americas at the end of the month in Halifax, Canada.

Host country Puerto Rico ran away from The Bahamas in the second half to win 90-76 and claim the gold medal in the under-21 tournament. Both teams will be joined by bronze medallists, the Dominican Republic, at the Tournament of the Americas.

With a vision of pulling off the upset, Team Bahamas came out firing on all cylinders last night. They blazed out to a 23-16 lead but could not maintain the momentum.

Team Bahamas still led 46-43 at the half, but the Puerto Ricans, backed by their home crowd, came all the way back in the third quarter. Puerto Rico outscored The Bahamas by 12 points in the third quarter and coasted in the fourth.

It was The Bahamas' aggressive defence which staked them to the early first half lead, but apparently the size of the Puerto Ricans wore them out as the game went along.

Swingman Mitchell Johnson scored 14 points in the first half but was limited to just three in the second half. Jeffrey Henfield added 15 points for The Bahamas, Jamal Douglas scored a dozen and point guard Alonzo "CJ" Hines contributed 10.

Peter John Ramos and Jose Juan Barea led Puerto Rico with 21 points each, and Jesus Verdejo Santana added 17.

Apparently, Puerto Rico obtained their huge lead in the third quarter as a result of executing wonderfully in transition on offense, and they were also able to stop The Bahamas from the perimeter. Team Bahamas had understandably shot the ball well up to that point.

All three teams, Puerto Rico, The Bahamas and the Dominican Republic, will now play in the 2004 under-21 Tournament of the Americas from July 27 to August 1 in Halifax.

Other teams that will play in that tournament include the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela.

Team Bahamas finished with a record of 3-1 in the Centrobasket Tournament.

Caption

STRONG PERFORMANCE - Peter John Ramos goes up for a lay up against Team Bahamas in the gold medal game Sunday in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico won the game 90-76.