THE Government of Guyana on Thursday committed $20M to the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) for hosting the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Under-16 Championships in July of this year. The last time the Championships were held in Guyana was 1999 almost 20 years ago.
The money was donated in response to CBC Executive Evaluation Commission’s need to see commitment from Guyana’s government as well as an assurance of Guyana’s capacity to host the Championships.
Present on Thursday were CBC president Glynce Clarke and vice-president Patrick Haynes.
GABF vice-president Michael Singh commented on the donation stating that the donations will go towards the purchasing of new equipment and backboards.
“This is a good investment, because the same U-16 team can be moulded and kept together for the U-19, U-23 and ultimately senior national team,” Singh answered when asked about developing the team.
He was of the opinion that the donation also improves the infrastructure of basketball and Guyanese would be able to see the standards other countries have.
The Inter Guiana Games basketball coach Willon Cameron also gave his thoughts on the donation in a comment to Chronicle Sport..
“I believe it’s a good investment for the future of basketball.”
The National Sports Commission (NSC) is also to contribute to the GABF. With all the added attention basketball is receiving it is hoped that the game will develop and athletes will come up to suitable standards.