SPORTS
FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2025
‘Jazz’ Chisholm Jr to play for Great Britain
In
the
By TENAJH SWEETING
According to reports, New York Yankees
second baseman Jasrado
“Jazz” Chisholm Jr could potentially suit up for Great Britain for the second time in his career at the 2026 World Baseball Classic in Houston, Texas.
Chisholm Jr previously played for Great Britain in the qualifying round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, officially known as the 2016 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers.
Baseball insider Francys Romero reported that the
2026
World Baseball Classic
versatile baseball prodigy “has expressed his willingness to participate” barring good health and approval from the Yankees’ organisation.
The 27-year-old Major League Baseball (MLB) professional player last played for Great Britain back in 2016 when he was just 18-years-old.
Since then, he has found his stride in the majors with an All-Star selection under his belt and a career year last season after being traded to the Bronx Bombers.
After his stint in 2016, he was expected to play for Great Britain once again at the 2023 World Baseball Classic but was unable to due to his former team –Miami Marlins - erring on the side of caution as he was working his way back from a stress fracture in his back at the time.
In his last appearance for Great Britain, he finished 4-for-16 with an extra base hit and an RBI. He had his best performance in Great Britain’s 14-0 triumph over Pakistan in the preliminary round.
He went 3-for-5 with a run scored, a RBI and two stolen bases.
Great Britain advanced all the way to the finals before suffering a 9-1 loss to Israel in the qualifying game.
The 2026 World Baseball Classic will host 20 teams in pool play across four different venues March 5-17.
Great Britain will engage in pool play in Group B. The pool consists of the
USA, Mexico, Italy and Brazil. The pool stage will be played in Houston, Texas at the Daikin Park. The top two finishers in the group will advance to the knockout round. Great Britain will play its first
game against Mexico on March 6, 2026. And if Chisholm Jr’s start to the 2025 MLB season is any indication, the flashy baseball star will be the perfect addition to Great Britain’s preliminary
roster in what can be considered his prime. He is batting .180, with four homers, seven runs scored, nine RBIs and four stolen bases in his return to his natural position at second base this season.
GRAND
sharpshooter
Bahamian
Chavano
“Buddy” Hield and the Golden State Warriors are in the midst of a highly competitive Western Conference playoff race and a tough loss against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night might have bigger implications as the team approaches the conclusion of the National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season.
The Warriors suffered a crucial 114-111 loss to the Spurs at home thanks to a timely buzzer-beating triple from former Golden State forward Harrison Barnes.
The Spurs, who have already been eliminated from play-in contention, have potentially tanked the Warriors’ chances of clinching a top six playoff spot and avoiding the dreaded NBA play-in tournament.
Hield led the Warriors’ bench unit in scoring with 12 points on 4-for-13 shooting from the field. He also pulled in four rebounds and dished out one assist in 26 minutes of action.
Golden State point guard Stephen Curry had a gamehigh 30 points to go with eight rebounds and three assists for the Dubs.
With the latest loss, the Warriors fell to the seventh spot out West with a 47-33 (win/loss record). It was anybody’s game in the final three seconds of the ball game at the Chase Centre. Barnes committed a
TELEOS BAPTIST ACADEMY CHERUBIMS DOMINATE
PASTOR Dave Adams was beaming with excitement from ear to ear as he reflected on his Teleos Baptist Academy Cherubims’ domination of the Inagua All Age School Arthur Wesley Penn Invitational Basketball Jamboree. The tournament, held in memory of the late Arthur Wesley Penn, the former head coach who contributed highly to the sport of basketball in Inagua for about 30-plus years, was held last week.
Tournament director Tarra Lindo said through the sponsorship from Morton Bahamas Ltd, the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture and the Inagua District Local Council, they were able to host the Teleos Cherubims, Exuma’s Ballers, Cat Island’s Old Bight High Hawks, San Salvador’s Caciques and the Inagua All Age Wild Boars.
The Wild Boars kept the primary divisional title in Inagua after beating the Exuma Ballers, while Teleos carted off the junior and senior boys’ titles to
CARIFTA TEAM GOING TO FIRST BAPTIST BEFORE they head off on Thursday for the CARIFTA Track and Field Championships in Trinidad & Tobago, the Bahamas’ 78-member team will worship at First Baptist Church, pastored by Rev. Diana Francis, at 9:30am on Sunday. The church is located on Market Street and Coconut Grove.
Following the service, a reception will be held for the team in the church’s hall. The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations named the team on Monday. They will continue practice from Monday to Wednesday before departing for Trinidad & Tobago on Thursday on a Bahamasair-chartered
SEE PAGE E3
NEW York Yankees second baseman Jasrado ‘Jazz’ Chisholm Jr could potentially suit up for Great Britain for the second time in his career at the 2026 World Baseball Classic in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/Gene J Puskar)
Giants, Rockets advance to the NPBA DI Finals
THE Commonwealth Giants and Caribbean Moonshine Rockets are on course to meet again in the 2025 New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) division one finals.
The CB Giants put the nail in the coffin against the Sand Dollar High Flyers with a 76-67 victory on Wednesday night.
With the latest win, the team swept their bestof-five semifinals 3-0 to advance to the final round of competition.
On the other side of the bracket, the Caribbean Moonshine Rockets, the defending champions, narrowly defeated the Zulu Media & Symphony Finance Great Whites 74-71 to close out their best-of-five semifinals with a 3-0 sweep.
The Your Essential Store (YES) Giants, the reigning division two champions, defeated the Cyber Tech Blue Marlins 73-66 on Wednesday for a 2-1 series lead.
Meanwhile, the Sand Dollar High Flyers are ahead 2-1 in their best-offive semis against the TYT Rockets. The division two semifinals will come down to the final game tonight
at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium.
As for division one play, the Rockets and CB Giants will begin their quest to the title at 8pm on Saturday night in the AF Adderley Gymnasium.
Whyms Jr
Photos by Chappell
ON THE REPLAY: The Commonwealth Giants and Caribbean Moonshine Rockets are on course to meet again in the 2025 New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) division one finals.
Cherubims dominate
FROM PAGE E1
New Providence, beating out Inagua in both divisions. Adams, now the principal of Teleos and former coach of the basketball team that he has passed on to his son, Darius Adams Sr, watched as the Cherubims clinched the junior and senior boys’ titles, as well as finishing in the top three spots in the free throw shooting contest.
The only event Teleos Baptist didn’t win was the primary boys’ division. They were not entered in the division that was won by Inagua. “It was a good experience for our players,” Dave Adams said.
“We got to visit Morton Salt, viewed the flamingos and even ate some food that we never had before.”
Although it was an expensive one, Pastor Adams said the trip was a reward for the 22 players and coaches for winning the Bahamas recent basketball championship titles in both divisions.
Making the trip to represent Teleos on the senior boys’ team were Jayden Adams, Kelsey Thurston, Desir Bien Jr, Nicholas Henfield, Keanu Thurston, Calvin Spence, Jayden Gabriel, Luke Dorcely, Aaron Curtis Jr and Revine Bethell. The players on the junior boys’ team were Jayden Gabriel, Luke Dorcely, Aaron Curtis Jr, Revine Bethell, Branario Taylor, Rhon Adderley, Caydene Morley, Dashawn Sturrup, Jason Mackey, Janero Stuart, Eddie Wallace, Darron Greene, Oneil Cash Jr and Dionte
Nelfrard. Darius Adams Sr said as the only school out of New Providence, they had to make their presence felt against teams from Inagua, Exuma, Cat Island and Sal Salvador. The Cherubims, according to Adams Sr, dedicated their victory to one of their players Darius Rolle, who was unable to make the trip due to breaking his thigh bone last Thursday. He was to have surgery on Thursday. “We wanted them to develop some camaraderie with the other players,” he
said. “But most of these boys have never been to a Family Island, so it was good for them to see the island and to play a high level of competition.
“Some of the teams had some bright spots. Inagua did and we know the history coming out of San Salvador. So the competition was alright. We just wanted it more than all of the other teams.”
Aaron Curtis won the junior boys’ most valuable player award while Luke Dorcely took the senior boys. In the first three-throw contest, Dorcely took the title with brothers Kesley and Keanu Thurston getting second and third. They all were awarded special prizes.
“I think, as a team, we did very well,” Darius Adams said.
“It was a pretty long season, but we were able to work on a lot of plays that we executed to get us the victories.
“We played a better defence, full court man-toman and deferent zones with baseline plays. One of
our junior players got the MVP for the senior boys. So the junior boys played just as well or even better than the senior boys.”
Darius Adams said the Cherubims were able to work together as a cohesive unit and that put a lot of pressure on their opposing teams because they couldn’t break their press.
He thanked Lindo and the organisers of the tournament for hosting Teleos the way they did from their arrival at the airport to the junkanoo rush out to the breakfast they were served and the hospitality they experienced up until they left on Monday.
Lindo thanked Floyd Walker and Theodore Grant for helping to organise the tournament.
“The event was a success. We achieved the objective of the tournament in getting exposure for the kids on the island,” Lindo said.
“It is lacking due to the fact that there is only one school in comparison to other islands and no one to compete against. The tournament was great fun with stiff competition.”
‘BUDDY’ SCORES 12 IN TOUGH LOSS TO SPURS
FROM PAGE E1
foul on Warriors big Draymond Green and it gave him an opportunity to tie the game at 111 apiece.
The former Warriors player made up for the illadvised foul attempt on the Spurs’ last possession. He pulled the trigger on a goahead three from the left wing over Jimmy Butler III to steal a crucial win from the Dubs.
Aside from the gamewinning play, Barnes pumped in 20 points, four rebounds and two assists in 36 minutes.
Hield and the Warriors are trying to outright secure a playoff spot to avoid playing extra games in the NBA’s play-in tournament.
‘Buddy’ is on the verge of making his second NBA postseason appearance but the Warriors’ next two games against the Deandre Ayton-less Portland Trail Blazers and the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers, who have won their last six outings, will determine their fate in the Western Conference.
The Dallas Mavericks, which features Bahamian pros Kai Jones and Klay Thompson, got the short end of the stick in Luka Doncic’s return to the American Airlines Centre on Wednesday.
The Mavericks got blitzed by the Doncic-led Los Angeles Lakers 112-97.
The Slovenian superstar torched his old team for 45 points, eight boards and six assists in his emotional return to his old stomping grounds.
Jones did not log any minutes in the contest but Thompson was active for the Mavs.
He pitched in six points, two rebounds and one assist in 28 minutes.
Although the Mavs came up short against the Lakers, the team is guaranteed a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament, especially after the Phoenix Suns lost their eight straight ball game against the red hot OKC Thunder. Next up Dallas will play against the Toronto Raptors for their regular-season home finale.
flight for the track and field competition, scheduled for April 19-21. Also on Thursday, the 38-member swim team will depart for Trinidad & Tobago on their Bahamasair chartered fight in their quest for a seventhpeat championship feat when their competition takes place at the National Swim Complex April 19-22 with the open water swim on April 23. The team, named a couple weeks ago by Bahamas Aquatics, attended their service at the Epiphany Anglican Church on Sunday, April 6, followed by lunch at the Poop Deck, West Bay Street.
CYCLING
CLIFTON PIER
CLASSIC
THE New Providence Cycling Association is scheduled to host its Clifton Pier Classic Road Race on Sunday from the Clifton Pier parking lot, starting at 8:20am. The race categories include 20 km (12 miles) –2 laps of 6 miles; 40 km (24 miles) – 4 laps of 6 miles and 50 km (30 miles) – 5 laps of 6 miles. The race registration deadline is 4pm on Saturday.
For more information, persons can contact NPCA president Barron ‘Turbo’ Musgrove at 433-5568 or email - BAMMUS1967@ GMAIL.COM
The association is encouraging all interested to “push your limits, ride with heart and claim your victory.”
CHESS: WOMEN”S NATIONAL TEAM THE Bahamas Chess Federation has announced its national team that will participate in the 2025 SubZonal Absolute & Women’s Chess Championships in St Anne’s, Trinidad & Tobago, April 11-18. Representing The Bahamas will be Cecil Moncur, WFM Polina Karelina and WCM Chika Pride.
PEACE ON DA STREET FAMILY NIGHT
PLANS are underway for the staging of the Peace on Da Streets’ Basketball Classics’ Road to 30 years of existence. The event, being organised by the Hope Center under the theme “Shooting hoops instead of guns,” will be held from July 14-19 at the Michael ‘Scooter’ Reid Basketball Center. The highlight of the event will be the Family Night, scheduled for Sunday, July 20 at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium when the finals in all of the divisions will take place, starting at 3pm. There will also be the Mr Ship It Three-point shootout and the Joe’s Slam Dunk Contest. The night will conclude with the exciting Clergy versus Politicians match-up. Lots of prizes, including round trip tickets, will be up for grabs.
BASEBALL/ SOFTBALL RELOADED
INVITATIONAL
THE Reloaded baseball and softball programme for boys and girls is scheduled to hold its fourth
invitational tournament April 18-21 at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex. The event, organised by Stephen “Bishop” Beneby, is being sanctioned by the Bahamas Baseball Assocation, headed by Clarence “CJ’ McKenzie and will be sponsored by Pro Youth Foundation. It will feature baseball teams for boys and softball teams for girls from Grand Bahama and New Providence. It’s also anticipated that some teams from the Family Islands will also be in New Providence to participate.
FAST TRACK
ATHLETICS
SPRING FLING
INVITATIONAL
THE Fast Track Athletics Club is scheduled to hold its 4th annual Spring Fling at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex May 16-17.
The event is open to competitors from throughout The Bahamas.
The action is slated to begin at 5pm on Friday, May 16 and at 10am on Saturday, May 16.
It promises to provide fast competition, perfect prep for championship season and an unmatched island atmosphere in Grand Bahama. For more information on the meet, persons can email
fasttrackmanagement00@ gmail.com
RESURRECTION
10K RUN/5K WALK
“Arise and Shine” is the theme for the Resurrection 10K run, 5K walk, bike and breakfast fellowship as they encourage persons to “push your limits, cross the finish for change.”
The event, powered by Unity Initiative, is scheduled for Easter Monday, April 21, starting at 5:45am from the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium. The categories include 12-and-under, 13-17, 18-39, 40-59 and 60-and-over for male and females. Trophies and medals will be presented to the top finishers in all categories. “Come one, come all as we celebrate” is the call for all physically challenged, families, churches and all civic groups. For more information, persons can contact Votebcp242@ gmail.com, telephone 242524-1798 or log onto www. bcppaerty.org
TELEOS Christian School team celebrating.
MVP Senior Boys - Luke Dorcely receives his award from Latoya Palacious, chief councillor.
MVP Junior Boys - Aaron Curtis Jr gets his award.
JACOBI BAIN VOTED NAIA MEN’S TENNIS NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
XAVIER University of Louisiana’s Jacobi Bain was voted NAIA Men’s Tennis National Player of the Week for March 31 to April 6.
Bain, a left-handed senior from Nassau, Bahamas, won in doubles and singles Friday in XULA’s 6-1 victory at then-NAIA-13thranked city rival Dillard.
Bain and Nereo Suarez, No. 10 in the ITA NAIA doubles rankings, won 6-1 against Siddarth Arya and Jesus Rodriguez.
Bain, ranked 51st in singles, won 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 against 55th-ranked Yassine
Benjemaa. Bain also won Red River Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the same period.
The RRAC award is Bain’s first this season and the fourth of his career. This is the ninth all-time NAIA National Player of the Week award for XULA men’s tennis — the fifth in the last five seasons.
The Gold Rush will conclude the regular season with a 2pm Saturday home match against NAIA No. 7 William Carey. Bain is expected to be honoured in a prematch senior-day ceremony.
Also honoured at that time will be Gold Nuggets fifth-year standout Mbali Langa.
Her team’s regular season has concluded after the Wednesday cancellation of home matches
against William Carey and LSU-Alexandria.
XULA men’s tennis — NAIA National Player of the Week recipients selected by the NAIA • Jacobi Bain, March 31-April 6, 2025
• Juan Ramirez, April 11-14, 2022
• Santiago Perez, April 4-10, 2022
• Santiago Perez, April 12-18, 2021
• Shaikh Abdullah, April 5-11, 2021
Didavi, April 2-8, 2012
• Zach Taylor, April 25-May 1, 2011
Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays finalised their $500 million, 14-year contract that starts in 2026, a deal with a record $325 million signing bonus that protects the money from a possible work stoppage in 2027. Toronto announced the deal Wednesday and scheduled a news conference for Monday at the Rogers Centre ahead of its next home game.
Before speaking about his new deal ahead of Toronto’s 2-1, 11-inning win at Boston on Wednesday, Guerrero’s thoughts were of his native Dominican Republic, where at least 98 people died and 160 were injured in the roof collapse at a nightclub.
“I want to send my condolences for those families that lost a loved one in that tragedy. ... That my heart, my soul is with my entire country right now,” he said.
The 26-year-old Guerrero admitted there was a sense of relief in getting the long-term deal done.
“If I tell you that it’s not a big relief, I’d be lying to you,” he said. “It’s always been my goal to be here. And I feel like I accomplished that, and I’m very, very happy to stay here and to be a Blue Jay.
“It wasn’t that hard.
Like, I would say maybe, I was just trusting the process, every step with my family, my agents, my close ones. I mean, have faith, everything, the outcome was going to be good. So, I
mean, trust, I was trusting everything. But thank God, it went well.”
The signing bonus includes $20 million payable within 30 days of the agreement’s approval by Major League Baseball. The remainder of the signing bonus is payable during the length of the contract.
“This is a monumental moment in franchise history,” Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro said in a statement. “Vlad has been part of our Blue Jays family since he was 16 years old and has captured the heart of our city and country. There are very few in the game today that can say they have played for more than two decades with the same team, and we are immensely grateful Blue Jays fans will get to see Vlad finish his career where it all began. The name Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will forever be synonymous with the Toronto Blue Jays.”
Guerrero agreed in January to a $28.5 million, one-year contract that avoided arbitration, and the four-time All-Star first baseman had said he wouldn’t negotiate after he reported to spring training in mid-February. Still, talks with his agent continued well into the regular season.
Guerrero got the thirdlargest contract in total dollars behind outfielder Juan Soto’s $765 million, 15-year contract with the New York Mets that started this season and two-way star Shohei Ohtani’s $700
million, 10-year agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers that began last year and is heavily deferred. Guerrero’s $35.71 million average annual value under the new deal ranks eighth among current contracts behind the agreements of Ohtani ($70 million), Soto ($51 million), Philadelphia pitcher Zack Wheeler ($42 million), Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge ($40 million), Texas pitcher Jacob deGrom ($37 million), Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell ($36.4 million) and Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole ($36 million). Guerrero cited the Blue Jays organization as the reason he wanted to remain
in Toronto. “I’ve never seen an organization that’s a class organization as a family,” he said. “It’s been 10, 11 years that we’ve been here. I mean, like I say, this is family for me – the team, the city, the fans, it’s family. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t really feeling to go elsewhere and meet new people.
He said his own family played a role in his decision.
“That’s one of the hardest ones right there – when your daughter comes to you and asks you ‘Daddy, are we going to stay in Toronto?’ Knowing that your family really wants to stay in Toronto, that was (the main one). But, all
along they really wanted to stay in Toronto and thank God it happened,” he said. Toronto general manager Ross Atkins heaped accolades on Guerrero.
“Just so powerful for the organization,” Atkins said. “I think it’s monumental for Toronto and the game.
A historic deal for what will be a historic player.
“I think he’s just getting started. He’s been already done tremendous things thus far as an individual, and with this team. He’s going to continue to do those things.”
A son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, the Blue Jays star would have been a free agent this
fall at a relatively young age. The elder Guerrero shared some advice with his son: “To trust God. My dad told me to trust God and to try to get the last penny that I could from the organization.”
The younger Guerrero is a .287 career hitter with 160 homers and 511 RBIs. He is batting .255 with no homers and four RBIs in the first 12 games this season.
“He’s always been driven and he’s been pretty open about saying he wants to be as good or better than his dad, which is saying a lot,” Toronto manager John Schneider said.
“Thrilled for him and us, really. ... It’s really cool for him and it’s obviously enormously huge for the organization.”
Seeking its first World Series title since winning championships in 1992 and 1993, Toronto notably failed to land Ohtani, Soto and Roki Sasaki.
The Blue Jays agreed to a $92.5 million, five-year contract with outfielder Anthony Santander; a $15.5 million, one-year contract with right-hander Max Scherzer; and a $33 million, three-year contract with reliever Jeff Hoffman. Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette, a two-time AllStar, remains eligible for free agency after this year’s World Series.
Guerrero’s deal leaves Kyle Tucker and Pete Alonso among the top players eligible for free agency this offseason.
• Antoine Richard, April 10-16, 2017
• Corey Huggins, April 9-15, 2012
• Loic
AP — Vladimir Guerrero
TORONTO Blue Jays first base Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) looks on prior to MLB baseball action against the Washington Nationals, in Toronto, Monday, March 31, 2025. Photo: Thomas Skrlj/The Canadian Press via AP)
Emotional return for Doncic and Mavericks fans in his 1st game at Dallas since trade
By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer
DALLAS (AP) — Luka
Doncic always knew it was going to be an emotional return to Dallas when wearing his No. 77 Los Angeles Lakers jersey in the place he called home the first 5 1/2 seasons of his NBA career.
Then the Mavericks showed a more than twominute video tribute before he had even been introduced before his first game back Wednesday night, two months after being traded.
Doncic watched while sitting on the bench alone, with tears in his eyes and wondering if he would even be able to get through the game.
“After that video, I was like, there’s no way I’m playing this game,” Doncic said. “So many moments, and I just went out there and just played basketball.”
More than play, he had another Luka-like standout performance.
Doncic matched his season high with 45 points in a 112-97 victory that clinched a playoff spot for the Lakers. He already had 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting with three 3s in the first 10 1/2 minutes.
“It was a beautiful moment. I thought the video was great,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “But I think just his ability to then go perform, lights turn on, he’s teary-eyed still as we walk out on the court for the tip ball. To have the emotional resolve to then go put on that kind of performance, it’s superhuman.”
The other four Lakers starters had already been introduced as Doncic looked up to watch many highlights from his time in Dallas — from being the 2018-19 NBA rookie of the year to last year’s NBA Finals when he was the league scoring champion. Doncic didn’t make it all the way through before putting his head down and wiping away tears. His eyes
were still red once he was introduced and came on the court to be surrounded by his teammates and get several hugs.
The 26-year-old from Slovenia had thought he would spend his entire career in Dallas before that seismic trade out of nowhere the first weekend of February, a deal that brought Anthony Davis to Dallas.
“It was a little bit of both, happy and angry, but it’s nice to see some familiar faces here,” Doncic said about arriving at the American Airlines Center before Wednesday’s game. “It was a lot emotions. When I woke up, I was tired. Ain’t going to lie, I didn’t sleep much. Excited about this game. I really appreciate the fans, the way they reacted to me.”
There were loud cheers throughout the night, plus extended ovations when he was first introduced and then exited the game in the closing minutes. Draped over every seat in the arena
was a T-shirt with “Hvala za vse” across the front — that Slovenian phrase translates to “Thank you for everything.”
Doncic called it an amazing and unbelievable experience, but one that he is happy to have done.
“Now I can get some sleep finally,” he said.
Right after tipoff, fans began chanting “Fire Nico” for the Mavericks general manager who traded Doncic. That chant got louder and longer in the first quarter, and repeated numerous times during the game, when Nico Harrison was seen standing just outside a tunnel.
Mavericks fans conducted a mock funeral outside the American Airlines Center on Feb. 2, right after news of the trade late the previous night. There have been protests and plenty of ire directed at Harrison, including “Fire Nico!” showing up on plenty of signs and T-shirts. The GM hasn’t spoken to
the media since comments he made right after the deal was done.
While there were no organised protests outside the arena before the game, No. 77 jerseys were everywhere — both the purple and gold ones of the Lakers and blue Mavericks jerseys as well, though some of those home ones had the Dallas logo covered up. There were even some Slovenia jerseys.
One fan sitting a couple of rows behind the Dallas bench had a Mavericks No. 77 jersey, but had “Lakers” written on duct tape covering up the logo.
A fan outside wore a Los Angeles jersey with duct tape covering the Lakers logo that read “Former Mavs fan.”
This wasn’t the first time Doncic played the Mavericks. He had a triple-double (19 points, 15 rebounds and
12 assists) in the Lakers’ 107-99 home win on Feb. 25, only 23 days after the trade.
Los Angeles is 21-12 since Doncic was acquired. The Lakers are 17-9 in the games he has played for them.
Dallas is 12-19 since the trade and Davis has played in only eight of those games (five wins). The 10-time All-Star missed six weeks after his dominant debut with the Mavs on Feb. 8, when he had 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks against Houston before coming up lame in the third quarter because of a groin injury.
“With A.D., we got traded for each other, so from now on, everybody’s going to compare us two,” Doncic said. “I think he’s an amazing player and I think is going to do really good in Dallas.”
NBA’s playoff chase is in its final days - a look at what’s happening:
By The Associated Press
THE 20 postseasonbound teams in the NBA are set. Another playoff spot has been clinched. Another postseason seed has been clinched. And we even know one of the matchups that’ll happen next week in the play-in tournament. There were 35 games left entering Thursday to decide everything else.
The Dallas Mavericks became the 20th and final team to secure a berth in the 2025 NBA postseason; the Mavericks grabbed the final Western Conference play-in spot on Wednesday night when the Phoenix Suns were eliminated by losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder. On April 16, it’ll be Dallas vs. Sacramento — the Kings currently have the inside track to hosting that game — in the No. 9 vs. No. 10 West play-in elimination matchup.
The Mavericks got into the postseason on an emotional night, one where they played host to Luka Doncic as an opponent. Doncic scored 45 points, the Los Angeles Lakers won the game and are now assured of a playoff spot. The Lakers are currently No. 3 in the West, LeBron James is going to the playoffs for the 18th time in his career. Also secured: the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference, that going to the Orlando Magic. They beat the Boston Celtics to clinch the Southeast Division title and will play host to somebody — probably Atlanta or Chicago — in the 7-vs.-8 East play-in game on Tuesday night.
The West is a mess Golden State fell back into the play-in tournament range Wednesday night when Harrison Barnes hit a 3-pointer to give San Antonio a 114-111 win over the Warriors.
The current standings, entering Thursday, in the West for spots 4 through 8: Denver (which got its first win for interim coach David Adelman) is fourth at 48-32, the Los Angeles Clippers (48-32) are fifth, Memphis (47-32) is sixth, Golden State (47-33) is seventh and Minnesota (46-33) is eighth.
Any of those five teams could still finish in any of
those five spots. The Clippers, Nuggets and Grizzlies could even move to No. 3, but a lot of things have to happen for any of those clubs to get there.
National TV schedule
It was a TNT doubleheader yesterday, with Cleveland at Indiana and Minnesota at Memphis. Friday has MilwaukeeDetroit and Houston-L.A. Lakers on NBA TV, and Sunday has the Milwaukee-Detroit and L.A. Clippers-Golden State games on ESPN.
Betting odds Oklahoma City (+175) is favoured to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed closely by Boston (+220) and Cleveland (+550), then Golden State and the Lakers (both +1200) and Denver (+2200). Nobody else has odds shorter than 30-1.
Key dates Friday — All 30 NBA teams play.
Saturday — No games. Sunday — All 30 NBA teams play, end of regular season. All games start at either 1 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
April 15 — The No. 7 and No. 8 finishers in both conferences play to start the play-in tournament. Winners are the No. 7 seed for the playoffs; losers will host play-in elimination games on April 18.
April 16 — The No. 9 and No. 10 finishers in both conferences play; one of those games will be Sacramento vs. Dallas. Winners move on to April 18; losers are finished for the season.
April 18 — The April 15 game losers play host to the April 16 game winners. Winners are the No. 8 seed for the playoffs; losers are finished for the season. April 19 — NBA playoffs begin.
Numbers watch — The NBA record for total 3-pointers made in a season fell on Sunday. Boston also has broken the NBA’s single-season records for 3-pointers made and attempted by a team.
— For the first time, the NBA has three players with 300 3-pointers in a season. Detroit’s Malik Beasley and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards each have 305 and Golden State’s Stephen Curry has 302. There
have been 10 instances of a player making 300 3s in a season. Curry has six. Edwards, Beasley, James Harden and Klay Thompson each have one.
— There have been four instances of teammates each having 250 3-pointers in a season: Curry and Thompson did it four times when they were the Warriors’ “Splash Brothers.” Boston could have three players reach that number this season: Derrick White is already there with 262, Jayson Tatum has 247 and Payton Pritchard has 246.
— The Thunder are on the brink of setting an NBA record for point differential. They’re winning by an average of 12.6 points per game; the record is 12.3 by the 1971-72 Lakers. Oklahoma City has outscored teams by 993 points so far; three teams — the 1971-72 Lakers (1,007), the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks (1,005) and the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (1,004) are the only teams to enjoy a 1,000point differential over a full season.
Stat leader races
Not much of a race for the scoring, rebound and assist titles. They’re locked up.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder will be the scoring champion (the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo needed to score 182 points against the Pelicans yesterday to pass him going into the weekend, which seems unlikely).
Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis will win the rebounding title and Atlanta’s Trae Young will win the assist title.
Stat of the day
Denver’s Nikola Jokic needs only four more assists (assuming he’s going to play in both of the Nuggets’ final two games) to wrap up averaging a triple-double for the season. He’s at 29.8 points, 12.8 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game with two contests remaining. If he plays in both games, he needs a total of 73 points to make it a 30-point tripledouble for the season.
LOS Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic becomes emotional as he watches a video on the large video board that was a tribute to the former Dallas Mavericks player before an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Wednesday, April 9, 2025.
(AP Photo/LM Otero)
LOS Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) loses the ball as Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks (9) defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Monday, March 31, 2025.
(AP Photo/ Kyusung Gong)
Scottie Scheffler off to a quick start at a Masters where McIlroy is the sentimental favourite
By DOUG FERGUSON
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP)
— The Masters began yesterday with its largest field in 10 years and a feeling that only two players were at the centre of attention at Augusta National, and one of them wasted no time in going straight to the top of the leaderboard.
Scottie Scheffler, a natural choice as the No. 1 player in the world for the last two years, played his first nine in 3 under to match the tournament record for a defending champion.
The highlight was a 60-footer for birdie at the par-3 fourth.
Scheffler is trying to become the youngest player since Jack Nicklaus with three green jackets.
The other favourite is Rory McIlroy, the sentimental choice as one of the best of his generation, with only a Masters title keeping him from the career Grand Slam. He was among those with an afternoon tee time on a warm, sunny day in Georgia.
It began as the sun was coming up and Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Gary Player hit honorary tee shots to get the 89th edition of the Masters underway.
The trio were asked who they wanted to win and who they thought would win — two quite different questions — and McIlroy was a unanimous choice among three players who have combined for 11 green jackets. “I think Rory McIlroy
will win the Masters this year, and I hope he does,” Players said, “because it
would give golf a great boost to have another winner of the Grand Slam.”
Watson concurred, saying it was his “gut feeling.” Nicklaus revealed that McIlroy came to see him in Florida last week. There has been a long line of players who have tried to tap into the knowledge of the six-time Masters champion, but it turned out that McIlroy didn’t really need the help.
“We went through it shot for shot,” Nicklaus said.
“And he got done with the round, and I didn’t open my mouth. And I said: ‘Well, I wouldn’t change a thing.
That’s exactly the way I would try to play the golf course.’
“The discipline to do that is — the discipline is what Rory has lacked in my opinion,” Nicklaus said. “He’s got all the shots. He’s got all the game. He certainly is as talented as anybody in the game.”
McIlroy has leaned on that discipline this year, purposely playing more
conservative unless shots clearly allowed for aggressive play. That was his strategy when he won at Pebble Beach in February.
A month later, he added The Players Championship. Scheffler and others were setting quite a target for the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland.
The two-time champion was able to take advantage of the par-5s, getting up and down for birdie at the second and eighth, to go with that long birdie putt Scheffler made at the fourth.
Tyrell Hatton also made the turn at 3 under, while Justin Rose birdied his first three holes and joined them atop the early leaderboard. Aaron Rai briefly got to 4 under before three straight bogeys on the back nine, while 65-year-old Fred Couples was turning back time. The 1992 champion birdied the opening hole and spent most of the day in the red.
SCOTTIE Scheffler watches his tee shot on the fourth hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament yesterday in Augusta, Ga (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
SCOTTIE Scheffler waits to hit on the first hole yesterday during the first round at the Masters golf tournament.
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
AP Golf Writer
Mingoes best the Aces 3-1
THE University of The Bahamas women’s volleyball team returned to action with a 3-1 win against Midnight Aces in the UB Volleyball Showcase Tuesday at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.
They won 25-17, 25-18, 25-23, and 25-14 to snap a three-match slide. Raymond Wilson, head coach of UB women’s volleyball team said his team played better than the previous games.
“We need to develop a killer instinct so when they have a team they can put away, they put them away. I feel we should have won that game in three sets. We got too comfortable, and it got us to play four sets,” Wilson said.
UB got off to a strong start in the first set, scoring three unanswered points. That lead got extended to 14-9 before they took a 21-16 lead. A 4-1 run the rest of the game gave UB the 25-17 first set win. UB led the match 1-0.
It was a pivotal second set for both teams as they played the game close. There were some ties and lead changes before UB went up 14-10. Aces came back and made it a one-point game, 17-16 but a few key offensive plays by UB, gave them the 20-16 lead. UB gave up just two points down the stretch to win the set 25-18. The win gave UB the 2-0 lead to sit in the driver’s seat of the match.
UB took a 4-1 lead to start the third set, Aces then came back and tied it at seven points. The game swung in UB favor when they went up 16-11 but Aces took the lead at 17-16. Aces went up 20-19 and won the set 25-23. UB led the match 2-1. Aces got the fourth set underway with an 11-8 lead. UB’s captain and setter, Zarria Rose served and gave them their first lead of 12-11 before going up 16-11 where Rose won her eighth consecutive serving point.
“After the third set, the team lost a lot of momentum and energy,” Rose said. “I know I had to pick it up and in the fourth
by UB
Athletics
set, I went on an 8-0 serving run – it wasn’t common, but I glad I did it for my team.”
UB turned up their intensity the rest of the set and won the set 25-14. The set win gave UB a 3-1 match win.
UB Mingoes players Anjeniker Joseph (Black #7) and Zarria go up for a block against Midnight Aces.
UB Mingoes outside hitter Miracle Stubbs gets up for the spike.
Photos
ON THE REPLAY: UB Mingoes outside hitter Miracle Stubbs spikes the ball against Midnight Aces Tuesday, April 8 at the Kendal G L Isaacs Gymnasium.
UB Mingoes captain and setter Zarria Rose set the ball for her teammate.
UB Mingoes middle blocker Diamonde Davis tips the ball over the net.
UB Mingoes right side hitter Hannah McBride bumps the ball.