… Coach Mohan confident despite missing ‘best player’

THE Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) yesterday named the team that will represent ‘The Land of Many Waters’ at this year’s U-17 Central America and Caribbean Basketball (CentroBasket) Championships, which is scheduled to take place in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, July 26 – 30.
Guyana are placed in Group ‘A’ of the tournament that features Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
The Guyanese side will open their campaign against the Bahamas on July 26, followed by a clash with Puerto Rico on Thursday, July 27, and then close off their group-play against Mexico on July 28.
Teams will play in round-robin format for three days, after which, 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 semifinals 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.
The team was selected by head coach Lugard Mohan following the conclusion of last weekend’s trials at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
Returning to Guyana to play in the CentroBasket Championship is United States-based Guyanese Kevon Wiggins; a 6’0 starting guard at the Evander High School in Bronx New York.

Wiggins was the leading scorer for Guyana at last year’s Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) U-16, where the team finished behind regional basketball powerhouse Bahamas.
Guyana will also benefit from the coaching expertise of Kenneth Avent from the United States of America.
Avent is a player development specialist with FIBA and is also a USA Basketball Licensed Coach and Youth Development Specialist, Gloucester Times – coach-of-the-year and was also awarded American Professional Basketball League coach-of-the-year for 2016.
The team, which will depart Guyana on July 25 and return on August 1, includes Nigel Bowen, Tramine Brown, Kelmar Carmichael, Akeem Crandon, Shamar France, Roydon Glasgow, Jether Harris, Andrew Johnson, Jermaine King, Kevon Wiggins, Anthony Yanson and Jahleel Young.
The coaching staff will be led by Lugard Mohan with Avent as his assistant; Andrew Hercules is the team’s manager and Jonas Anestal the physical trainer.
Speaking with Chronicle Sport following the release of the team, Mohan said “despite the team missing their best player in Jordan Alphonso, my competitive nature will make me prepare these guys to the best of my ability”.

Alphonso was the ‘backbone’ of the team that finished second at the CBC U-16 tournament when the event was hosted in Guyana last year. The former Marian Academy student, before returning to the U.S., was considered the best youth player in Guyana, and played a significant role in the team’s success.
“The best player is not available, so instead of going there with our strength, we’re weakened, but, we still have to compete and, like I said, I’ll do everything to ensure that the guys maximise their potential,” said Mohan.
When contacted, GABF president Nigel Hinds told Chronicle Sport that while Alphonso’s albescence will be missed, it was beyond the Federation’s control, since he was not satisfied with the arrangements that would have allowed him to represent Guyana.
Meanwhile the GABF stated that they expect the high level of basketball competition in the Dominican Republic will “expose our youths to the intense training required to succeed at the international level. In addition, the exposure will also impart self-confidence, patriotism, and discipline among our youths”.