By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

YOLETT McPhee-McCuin continues to make history in the coaching ranks and achieved another milestone on her résumé when she became the first woman to join the coaching staff of a Bahamas senior men’s national basketball team.

McPhee-McCuin will serve as an assistant coach as The Bahamas contests the third window of FIBA World Cup 2023 Qualifiers.

In the third and final window, Bahamas will have its second matchup against The USVI on the road at the USVI Sport and Fitness Center on July 1 and will conclude when they host the second matchup against The Dominican Republic on July 4.

“I am incredibly humbled and grateful to represent the Bahamas as a coach for the men’s senior national team in international play,” said McPhee-McCuin.

“Any time that you have the opportunity to represent ‘home’ it’s a blessing and I’m looking forward to help our team compete in the World Cup Qualifiers.”

McPhee-McCuin has extensive experience on the sidelines at the national team level having previously served as the Bahamas senior women’s national team coach from 2014-2017. She led the team to the gold medal at the 2015 CBC Basketball Championship for women.

The senior men’s national team will be led by Golden State Warriors assistant coach Chris DeMarco.

“I have been following Coach Yo’s career extensively and I am excited to have her join us. Her knowledge and depth of experience as a veteran head coach will be an incredible asset for us as we compete to qualify for the World Games,” said DeMarco. “We are excited that she accepted the role and look forward to having her with us during this pivotal time.”

The team is set to participate in training camp in Miami, Florida June 25-30 prior to competition against the USVI. Team Bahamas was drawn into Group C alongside Canada, The Dominican Republic, and The US Virgin Islands.

Canada leads the group at 4-0, The Dominican Republic is 3-1, The Bahamas is 1-3 and the Virgin Islands are 0-4.

In November’s first window, The Bahamas suffered a 115-73 loss to Canada in the first game of a back-to-back in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Dominick Bridgewater led the Bahamas with 13 points, David Nesbitt scored 12, Thompson scored 11 and JR Cadot finished with nine.

Canada took a decisive 113-77 win in the second game. Nesbitt led The Bahamas with 18 points, Munnings had 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Thompson and Bridgewater each finished with 12 points.

Team Bahamas split the pair of games in the second window in February. They won 86-76 over the US Virgin Islands and lost 90-65 to The Dominican Republic at the Palacio de los Deportes in the Dominican Republic.

The win over the USVI was the second win for The Bahamas in the history of World Cup qualification, following a 2019 win over the Dominican Republic.

In the win over UVSI, Willis Mackey Jr led four Bahamian players in double figures with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Mychel Thompson scored 19 with six rebounds and five assists, Danrad Knowles had 14 points and seven rebounds, Tavario Miller had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Travis Munnings had six points, nine rebounds and 11 assists.

In the loss to The Dominican Republic, Munnings was the leading scorer with 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Miller had 14 points and six rebounds, Thompson had 10 points and seven rebounds and Knowles scored 12.

Sixteen teams will compete in the Americas region, vying for seven spots. The top three teams from each group will qualify for the second round of qualifiers.

In the second round, the 12 teams that qualified will be divided into two groups of six. Subsequently, the three best teams from each group, and the fourth-placed team, will qualify for the World Cup.

The FIBA World Cup 2023 is scheduled for August 25 to September 10 in multiple countries for the first time - Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines.

A total of 80 countries are left vying to be among the 32 teams at the 2023 World Cup.

The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 will qualify teams directly for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games or through four FIBA Olympic qualifying tournaments.