Latest update December 17th, 2024 3:32 AM
Guyana surrender IGG male basketball title
Crunch time jitters costly against Suriname
By Edison Jefford in Suriname
Compliments of Bryden and Fernandes, Warsila, Fon-J Cycle Store and Kiskadee Day Care
Guyana’s junior national male basketball team were forced into a crunch time ocean without life jackets and experience when they played established foes, Suriname in the Inter-Guiana Games’ (IGG) basketball championship game yesterday.
The team that only comprised two players with former junior national experience drowned in the final minute of a game that they should have won after a stunning first quarter performance that obliterated Suriname’s many defensive systems.
WE ALMOST DID IT!!! Guyana’s national junior basketball team pose with Coach, Robert ‘Bobby’ Cadogan and Statistician Dennis Clarke at the Anthony Nesty Sports Hall in Suriname yesterday after narrowly missing the IGG Basketball title.
However, the home team crept to recovery after obvious offensive struggles to toss the defending champions into a deep moment of truth that eventually revealed an 84-82 points’ win for the host at the Anthony Nesty Sports Hall in Paramaribo.
Jean Claude Smith led the Surinamese squad with 15 points while Cheraldo Beverdijk and Jerryl Furgen both scored 14 points. Floyd Anches helped with 11 points for the team that had thrashed French Guiana the night before at the same arena.
Guyana relied on the more locally-exposed players, Akeem ‘The Dream’ Kanhai, Orin Rose and Shelroy Thomas to take them to the Promised Land in the final minute of a thrilling game but the nerves and tiredness among them were noticeable.
Rose had an outstanding game from beyond the arc to finish with a game-high 26 points while he received valuable support from Thomas and Kanhai, who both scored 17 points in one of the best rivalries at the Guiana Games in recent history.
Guyana started the second quarter unsure, lacking the offensive confidence that comfortably had them up 25-15 in the first quarter. Suriname went on a 7-2 mini-run in the first four minutes of the period to trim Guyana’s lead to five points.
Anches powered his way inside for an uncontested put-back as Xavier Van Ams completed both free throws to equalise the scores at 27-27, which continued Suriname’s offensive surge in a time that clearly belonged to them in the crucial encounter.
Rose landed a three-point jumper that returned Guyana’s lead but their general offensive effort in the showdown significantly diminished under intense pressure defence from their opponents that produced turnovers and many uncertain attempts.
Anches finished consecutive inside plays and Keith Zinhagel scored a jumper that kept the yo-yo in sharing the lead swinging. Kanhai responded with a clinical turnaround jump-shot before Rose and Mohandatt sent down three-point daggers.
The shots from downtown gave Guyana a 38-34 points’ lead at halftime. Thomas lit up Anthony Nesty’s Sports Hall with consecutive three-pointers that contributed to a 46-38 points lead for the visitors before he completed an acrobatic pass.
However, Smith and Scheuer help Suriname recover to a one-point lead in the final minute of the third quarter, which ended 60-57 in favour of Suriname. The lead seemed to have frustrated them since the Surinamese kept bouncing back from margins.
The two teams exchanged points in the first five minutes of the final quarter following Beverdijk on the charity line for two free throws that were made to give Suriname a four-point (79-75) lead that launched them into savage pressure defence.
Suriname was leading 82-77 with 1:12 left on the game clock and the previously vocal Guyanese supporters became silent because of the test of the mettle and resolve of the defending champs in final minute of the championship game yesterday.
Rose completed an ‘And One’ lay-up off a pass from Mohandatt to come within striking distance of the Surinamese. Excellent defensive work then produced a turnover for the host but Kanhai, in his haste down the court, gave it back dramatically.
However, the national junior captain targeted the ball that he stole and finished to equalise on 82 with 30 seconds left in the game. Beverdijk then missed both shots on possession but grabbed his offensive rebound to finish a lay-up leaving one second.
That time was simply not enough for Guyana to convert or run a play in prevailing circumstances but Head Coach, Robert Cadogan took the loss in high spirits when he said that it was more like a win given the inexperience of the young national team.
“This is a win for Guyana because this team is one for the future. The level these guys took their game to and the seriousness of them was very impressive. I am very proud of them,” Cadogan, in his usual upbeat tone, told Kaieteur Sport yesterday.
Guyana had defeated French Guiana 95-90 Friday night in an all-round performance that placed them as favourites to defend their title despite Suriname’s blow-out win against the French team the following night, but Suriname won the battle and the war.
The national junior female basketball team will take away valuable lessons from the competition after falling to Suriname 114-13 Saturday night and 95-13 against French Guiana yesterday with French Guiana winning the championship after also beating Suriname.
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