By Neto Baptiste
The Antigua and Barbuda Senior National Men’s Basketball Team has suffered back-to-back defeats in the FIBA AmeriCup Pre Qualifiers being held in Nicaragua.
The Wadadli Bulldogs were crushed 97-53 by Cuba on Saturday night after they were edged 79-71 by hosts Nicaragua on Friday.
In their latest encounter, Antigua and Barbuda were outscored in all four quarters against a more experienced and aggressive Cuban squad, going under 21-14 in the first quarter before they were outscored in the second quarter by a 25-16 margin. The Bulldogs were outscored 30-12 in the third quarter before going under 20-11 in the fourth and final quarter.
Alexis Jackson was the best on show for Antigua and Barbuda with 14 points and 12 rebounds while Cohen DeSouza chipped in with 13 points. Jasiel Rivero led the scoring for Cuba with 15 points while grabbing five rebounds.
The Bulldogs, however, showed a bit more teeth in their opening game, losing by eight points to Nicaragua, a contest Antigua and Barbuda could have won if not for poor shooting under the basket.
The hosts charged out of the gates, claiming the first quarter 21-16 before Antigua and Barbuda rallied to claim the second quarter 17-13. The game slipped away from Antigua and Barbuda in the third quarter with Nicaragua outscoring their visitors 30-18. Antigua and Barbuda claimed the final quarter 20-15.
Antigua and Barbuda’s scoring was led by Selassie Brathwaite with 16 points while Kareem Edwards had 12 points. Jaden Andrew contributed with 11 points and five rebounds. For Nicaragua, Jared Ruiz sank a game-high 41 points while grabbing 11 rebounds.
Antigua and Barbuda were scheduled to round off their qualifying efforts on Sunday evening against the USVI.
