FOLLOWING the draw for the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Centrobasket U-17 Championship, Guyana was placed in Group ‘A’ with Mexico, the Bahamas and Puerto Rico.
The host nation (Dominican Republic), Jamaica, Panama and the Virgin Islands will make up the teams in Group B.
The Centrobasket U-17 Championship will be played in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from July 26 to 30 and will feature the participation of the National Teams from Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
The competition system of the tournament consists of two phases. In the Group Phase, the eight participating teams will be divided into two equal groups.
Teams will play in round-robin format for three days. The best two teams from each group will advance to the next phase, where the first-place team of Group A will oppose the second-place in Group B and vice versa.
The winners of the semi-finals will advance to the ‘gold medal match’, while the losers will play for the bronze of the continental event.
The top-three teams from the tournament will qualify to the FIBA U-18 Americas Championship 2018, to be played in St Catharines, Canada, June 11-17, 2018.
Guyana qualified for the 2017 FIBA Centrobasket U-18 championship by finishing behind the Bahamas at last year’s Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) U-16 tournament which was hosted at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
After a sensational showing, Guyana went down 84-57 to a well-oiled Bahamas team that breezed through the tournament, having entered as clear favourites.
Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) president Nigel Hinds recently stated that the ‘Land of Many Waters’ will be well represented at the games, where they will be making their debut.