By Joe Chapman

FOUNDER of the Linden champion basketball club, Victory Valley Royals, Linden ‘Sancho’ Alphonso has called on Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, and the regional leaders to do their best to upgrade the basketball playing facility used by one of the nation’s best clubs.

Among the most notable players over the years have been National players Alwyn ‘Shaq’ Wilson and Dwayne ‘Brown Sugar’ Roberts and several junior national players.

Speaking at the special ceremony where several players and officials of the club were given tokens of recognition at the Community Centre in Victory Valley, Alphonso has described the recent achievements of the Linden Basketball champions – second in 2017 and third 2018 in the last two National Club Championships, known as the ‘Road to Mecca’ and staged by the governing Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABA) – as remarkable.
It has been 19 years since Alphonso left these shores to take up permanent residency in the United States; and 25 years since Victory Valley Royals’ formation by the only coach to have given Guyana a regional basketball title.

But he has not forgotten his roots and as head coach of the Guyana National Women’s team, led by Karen Abrams, who carted off the 1996 CARICOM basketball championship staged in Trinidad and Tobago, Alphonso strongly feels more should be done generally for the promotion and development of basketball in Victory Valley, Wismar Linden.

However, at the special ceremony to mark the 25th reunion of the club Sancho recalled: “For the Royals have maintained consistency and I want to thank Pastor Linnel Warden for the time he has spent as president keeping them in check. As I said before it is not an easy task dealing with them. I have dealt with them.

June Harris, as a member over the years, has been a stalwart with my brother Dereck Alphonso and more so thanks to the players for allowing me to experiment on them.”

But coach Alphonso took the opportunity to call on Minister Broomes, Regional Chairman of Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Berbice) Renis Morian, Mayor of Linden Ms Waneka Arrindell, past Mayor of Linden Carwyn Holland, Regional Chairman of the PNCR Dereck Alphonso, Member of Parliament Jermaine Figueira and president of the GABA Nigel Hinds to visit the space where players of the Royals club practise their skills, but have done well.

In the vicinity, when President David Granger recently opened a new Play Park in one of Linden’s known ghetto communities. ‘Sancho’ pleaded with the special invitees saying: “Beyond the trestle to enter Victory Valley you would never believe, and I want Minister Broomes and Mr Hinds to come and see where we have been producing national players.
“You got to see it to believe it, because I tell you what, I telling you might be an understatement. Seeing is believing – the worse conditions we play under and the odds are stacked against us but we still overcome.”

The space where the half court is does not have room for a full court. Alphonso said that the Silvercity Hard Court which is just before the entrance to Victory Valley would be best suited to be developed.

Alphonso, the club’s first president who is also overseas but was back for the 25th anniversary said: “Having leaders we see as influential figures in our community, we know once that is happening we are getting the attention.”
He continued: “Once we are getting the attention there is some hope and we know where there is hope lots of things can happen.

“As first manager of the team I did it because I thought I was contributing to something that was worthwhile and growing in the Valley we have always been addressed as disadvantaged. Many times we try to justify but sometimes I say if you make poor decisions, poor things happen. If you make good decisions, good things can happen. Where there is life there is hope.”