WITH Guyana set to host the U-16 Caribbean Basketball Championships (CBC) in July, much talk surrounds the players to be chosen to represent Guyana.At the last press briefing, Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) president Nigel Hinds stated that the players, (both male and female) would be chosen one month before the championships. However, players for both teams have been identified.
According to Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) Director Chris Bowman, players have been identified but not shortlisted. The players have been identified from the ongoing National Schools’ Basketball Tournament Regional Conference games.
Bowman also stated that the process of selecting players would be similar to the Inter-Guiana Games (IGG) selection. For IGG, over 20 players were shortlisted, and during a three-day trials, a cut was made and in the weeks leading up to the games, the final 12 were chosen.
The final 12 consisted of 2 players at each position whether point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward or centre. The CBC team selection process will follow a similar pattern.
The YBG director also expressed a high vote of confidence in the players who were already identified. When asked if the heights of the players would pose any issue, he simply stated: “We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves because we don’t really know what we are comparing our teams against.”
He also added “From the talent we have, I would say we have a well-balanced team for basketball… A good basketball team must have good handling and shooting guards, scoring and defensive forwards and a couple centre forwards who understand their position and role.”
He closed by saying “You will be surprised to know how much talent we have in the U-16 age group. I am not worried in that respect.”
The GABF and YBG have been working together and Bowman noted that the relationship between the two is a good one, and both parties are committed to seeing the game of basketball develop in Guyana.