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Guyana to collide with American in All-star game
The Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) in collaboration with the Partners in Christ will host one of the most anticipated evenings of basketball in recent times when the American under-17 and 19 and over team will tangle with some of Guyana’s top young players this evening at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH).
Travin Dryden
The International All-Star night will see the teams battling for pride and bragging rights.
Coach of the USA based teams, Kevin Johnson, said his teams are ready for the impending contests. “Well this is the first time we are being able to practice with everyone at once so we have been on the go for the past four days while implanting our system but it’s an opportunity I think is great for us to come here and play because some of these guys have Guyanese parents but have not been here, so it’s a new challenge for them,” Johnson stated.
Johnson has worked with players from the NBA’s Miami Heat with women’s division two college sides.
Johnson promised that his team is prepared to handle the Guyanese all-stars, “We went to Linden and we played against their under-17 and we beat them by 40 points and we played their 19 and over team and won by 15…I haven’t had a chance to see all the Guyanese All-stars, I have seen some of the them play and we know what to expect but from the practices we have seen they look like a disciplined bunch and like they can pass the ball well,” Johnson revealed.
Meanwhile, Guyanese All-star over-18 player Travin Dryden assures that the Guyanese side will go all out in tonight contest. “Well, practice has been simple but great, we are jelling as a team and we have been going through the paces to go out there and give it our all we are happy for the opportunity and I will come out playing my A game,” he said.
National player Nikkoloi Smith noted that the training should pay off. “Training has been intense, we did a lot of work and you know for sure I will give me best,” Smith stated after a training session at the CASH.
Co-director of the YBG weighed in saying, “It is important for youth basketball and it is important for basketball in general not many time you will have the opportunity to rub shoulders will players from America and I hope our young players understand this and I think all the youth players should be out there on Sunday.
“Basketball is an American sport, it is in their DNA and our youngsters will learn a lot form this as we look to give them more exposure,” Bowman noted.
It’s all to play for and Bowman noted that the game will tell the real tale, “Well really we don’t know, we have to wait and see and I know that the under-17 American players are skilled and talented and our players will learn that watching such high level players play against playing with them on the court are two totally different things,” Bowman stated.
Meanwhile, gates at the CASH open at 17:00hrs and the under-17 contest is set for 18:00hrs, with the 18 and over sides battling in the nightcap.
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