… Hercules optimistic of team advancing

GUYANA will begin their journey to the FIBA 2023 World Cup this evening, when they take-on Nicaragua in El Salvador from 21:00hrs, at the José Adolfo Pineda National Gymnasium.
It will mark the start of the FIBA Americas Pre-Qualifiers for Guyana, where they will also face hosts El Salvador, Jamaica and Costa Rica.
The team arrived in the Latin American country on Tuesday, and head coach Junior Hercules said they have since settled in and are eager to see some action.
“We’ve had our first practice on Tuesday and I’ll say that we’re a bit anxious but composed. So for the most part, we’re getting ourselves settled-in. With regard to our focus of playing, we have a single objective,” Hercules said in an interview that first appeared on NCN Sports. Guyana will be one player short in El Salvador, after forward Timothy Thompson tested positive for COVID-19 just before the team’s departure.

The Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) was not allowed a replacement, which meant that coach Hercules will have to make-do with eleven players at the Qualifiers.
Thompson was the second player to receive a positive return on his COVID-19 test, with GABF being forced to replace point guard Yonnick Tappin with forward Akeem Crandon last week.
“It’s never a good thing for a team to be short of a player. Nevertheless, we know some of the consequences of COVID-19 and we would have been prepared for such, in a minimum sense, of the eventuality if possible,” Hercules said. Asked about his team’s game-plan, the 2018 Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC)-winning coach said he will be hoping that his players can manage their turnovers, adding that their ultimate challenge is to exercise a level of trust in their strategy.
“I think if we’re able to achieve that going into our first game, being healthy and having clearance as it relates to the COVID-19 protocols, Guyana have a very good chance,” Hercules affirmed.
Stanton Rose Jr, the 2018 CBC Championship Most Valuable Player (MVP), will once again take up the reins as team captain.

Anthony Moe, Travis Belgrave and Harold Adams are the players returning from the 2018 CBC Championship-winning team, while Akeem Crandon, Terron Welsh, Israel Yaw and Nicholai Smith are making a return to coach Junior Hercules squad. Meanwhile, FIBA Champions League (2018) and FIBA Intercontinental Cup (2019) winner, Delroy James, will have his first taste of International Basketball The 33-year-old, who was a standout for Rhode Island University and has had considerable success on the European League circuit, most notably with AEK Athens, returned to Guyana for the first time since he migrated as a six-year-old. Delroy’s brother, Gordon James, and Moe & Berkeley College point guard Deylon Anthony are the overseas-based players on the roster. Following their encounter with Nicaragua tonight, Guyana will face Jamaica (April 16 at 18:00hrs), El Salvador (April 17 at 21:00hrs) and Costa Rica on April 18 at 21:00hrs. According to GABF, all the team’s matches will be aired on local Cable provider, E-Networks’ E1 channel.