Team Bahamas Off to Semis After Beating Poland

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VALENCIA , SPAIN – Team Bahamas finished the group stage undefeated and now heads into the semifinal of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The Bahamas secured the top position in group b with a 90-81 win over Poland earlier today in Valencia, Spain.

VJ Edgecombe led four players in double figures with 21 points, Buddy Hield had a double double with 17 points and 10 assists, DeAndre Ayton had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Eric Gordon scored 12.

A fourth quarter lead that grew to as much as 18 was cut all the way down to 6, but on a third shot opportunity, VJ Edgecombe rattled home a three to give The Bahamas a nine point lead with 34 seconds left to play.

Led by 5 from Hield, The Bahamas shot 14-29 from beyond the arch.

They made their first four from three in a dominant first quarter which featured 10 points off the bench and saw them take a 30-20 lead.

They carried a 50-38 lead into the half with Buddy, Deandre and Gordon combining for 31 points.

Poland came within six in the third before The Bahamas went on a late run, capped by an Edgecombe steal and fastbreak dunk to take a 73-59 lead into the fourth.

Poland had one more run left in them in the fourth, but Edgecombe would score the last seven points for The Bahamas to put the game away.

As the seed in Group B The Bahamas will face the second place finisher in Group A on July 5.

Track & Field

No official announcement has been made yet from the Bahamas Olympics Committee, but a list of athletes are now eligible to join the country’s track and field team for Paris 2024.

Reigning 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo, former world champion high jumper Donald Thomas, Wanya McCoy and Terrence Jones in the 100m, Ken Mullings in the decathlon, 110m hurdles national record holder Antoine Andrews, Ian Kerr in the 200m, and Charisma Taylor in the triple have all qualified through the world athletics ranking system.

McCoy is also an automatic qualifier in the 200m and Taylor is an automatic qualifier in the 100m hurdles.

The qualification window for athletics ended on June 30, however, the final Road to Paris 2024 standings were officially confirmed by World Athletics earlier this week.

Team Bahamas currently has six automatic qualifiers for athletics and two for swimming.

Basketball

Arguably the most decorated basketball player in Bahamian history, Jonquel Jones added another milestone to her career resume.

Jones was named a WNBA all-star selection for the fifth time in her seven-year career.

This season the New York Liberty Center is averaging 16.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while shooting a career high 58.5 percent from the field. 

In her last game she posted 21 points and 12 rebounds in New York’s 76-67 victory over the Minnesota Lynx.

Jones’ WNBA all-star team will take on the U.S. Olympic team, July 20 at the Footprint Center, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Jones and the Liberty top the standings at 17-3 and have five games left before the all-star break.