Patterson says sport needs the boost
PRESIDENT of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) David Patterson says that the upcoming Ansa McAl-sponsored Mackeson Smooth Moves 3-on-3 Basketball tournament is part of what is needed to boost the game and enhance its image in Guyana. The tournament which will be launched on Friday will see basketball lovers vie for millions in cash and prizes with the ultimate incentive being a trip for four to the NBA All-Star Weekend.
Basketball in Guyana is at a standstill with the most recent activity being our national unit’s participation at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) tournament in the Bahamas, where they finished 7th.
Nothing much is being heard about the game and given the fact the GABF’s two main sub-associations (Linden and Georgetown) are battling with playing facilities and administrative woes respectively, fans and players alike have started to lose interest in the sport they once loved.
The 3-on-3 game is one of the formats being used now by the sport’s world governing body FIBA; to help reintegrate the sport of basketball into some lost societies, much like in Guyana and to help regain their fans’ support for the game.
It is on that note that Patterson lauded the tournament and gave his administration’s fullest support but said that “it’s difficult to gauge the impact of this particular tournament on the game of basketball in Guyana”.
He further went on to state “we (GABF) are quite sure that this tournament – like most organised basketball – will have a positive impact on participation by both players and spectators. Our greatest hope is that the effort is sustained over time”.
“It is useful to remember that basketball players are always looking for avenues to showcase and improve their talent,” said Patterson who is also of the view that the tournament has lucrative prizes and the venue is an attractive structure to bring out players and spectators.
Since the publication in various forms in the local media about the multimillion-dollar basketball tournament, it has received mixed reviews from the paying public, some resorting to the fact that the sport can use the money being spent for fostering better development and most of those sentiments were shared by the country’s more senior players.
“It is difficult to fathom any reason that any basketball player in Guyana would not cherish the opportunity to play. After all, that is the desire of all players. Any suggestion that seasoned basketball players may have any misgivings about this tournament is tantamount to being naive and short-sighted,” responded Patterson to the question asked about the players’ response to the game.
“GABF has embraced the regularisation of the 3-on-3 format of the game. It encourages player-development, does not have the formality and rigidity of the regular game, and it encourages participation – all great advantages to the playing of the sport.
“We need to point out that there is no influx of huge corporate dollars into the sport. This single tournament, though it is well financed, does not represent an influx of funds that GABF can use to administer and promote the game in Guyana,” said Patterson.
Patterson, a Member of Parliament with the Alliance for Change (AFC) party noted that the GABF is confident that there are “tremendous benefits to the basketball fraternity from the staging of this tournament.
“First and foremost is the opportunity for players to participate and for spectators to enjoy the game.  Second, there are peripheral benefits as in the rehabilitation of some playing facilities and the distribution of equipment; and third, a heightened awareness of the sport”.
Since Guyana’s showing at the CBC Championships this year, the general consensus by the basketball community is that the GABF has been silent or non-existent about development for the sport but those claims were refuted by the Federation’s boss.
“Our goals were articulated prior to participation in the tournament (CBC), which were: to have Guyana participate in international tournaments again; to provide a goal for our local players to aspire to; to improve the standard of the local game by having local players exposed to the game at an international level and to use the tournament as a barometer of the level of the game in Guyana – to create a benchmark so to speak.
“We have accomplished all these goals,” said Patterson.