THE BAHAMAS BASKETBALL TEAM FOR THE OLYMPICS

The Bahamas dream team in the qualifier for FIBA for the Olympics: Phoenix Suns centre Deandre Ayton and guard Eric Gordon, Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield and Charlotte Hornets forward Kai Jones has committed to play for their native Bahamas in upcoming Olympic qualifying action.

A description of the game played on 16 August 2023

Bahamas completes the comeback to win Group A 

Argentina couldn’t have drawn up a better start to the game.

With Facundo Campazzo running the show and the shooters draining jumpers from all over the floor, the South Americans quickly jumped to a 33-13 lead as a delirious crowd celebrated.

What came after that left those same fans speechless.

Chris Demarco’s team started finding Deandre Ayton in the paint, Eric Gordon and eventually Buddy Hield found their shooting strokes, and the rest was history.

That, combined with a severe shooting drought from Argentina and their troubles scoring inside the arc, was enough to seal the deal despite a late push from the South Americans.

Bahamas shot 55.2 from the field and outscored their opponent 44-36 in the painted area, but it was their defense in the second and third quarters that tipped the scales.

After giving up 37 points in the first 12 minutes, the Bahamas held Argentina to just 30 over the next 2 quarters. All while their stars were going off.

Ayton looked unstoppable, finishing with 22 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals while dominating in the post, doing damage from midrange and walling off Argentina’s penetrations on the other end. 

Hield led the outside attack, going 4/10 from downtown to finish with 23 points, while Gordon had a game-high 24 points, including 11-12 at the free-throw line.