Bermuda Fall to Turks and Caicos in AmeriCup Pre-Qualifiers
IslandStats.com
Bermuda suffered a setback in their FIBA AmeriCup Caribbean Pre-Qualifiers campaign, slipping to a seventy-six to sixty-one defeat against a clinical Turks and Caicos side.
It marks the national team's second loss of the tournament, leaving them with plenty of work to do in the upcoming group fixtures.
A sluggish opening period ultimately left Bermuda chasing the game, as they were outscored twenty to ten in the first quarter.
The team showed great resilience to claw their way back into contention during the second quarter, outscoring their opponents seventeen to thirteen to reduce the deficit to a manageable six points, trailing thirty-three to twenty-seven at the half-time interval.
However, any hopes of a second-half resurgence were dashed in a difficult third quarter. Turks and Caicos turned up the offensive pressure, outscoring Bermuda twenty-three to twelve to pull well clear.
Although Bermuda fought until the final buzzer—shaving two points off the lead by winning the final quarter twenty-two to twenty—the damage had already been done.
Leigh-Jaelen Williams and Malachi Scott fought hard to lead the Bermudian scoring effort, with both players contributing thirteen points. Adam McDonald also reached double figures with eleven points, while Cameron Basden chipped in with ten.
Williams was an influential presence under the glass, falling just one rebound short of a double-double with nine boards, while Scott hauled in seven. Basden led the team's playmaking with three assists, and McDonald put in a strong defensive shift to record a team-high five steals, but their combined efforts were not enough to deny Turks and Caicos the victory.
