Guyana plays Suriname tonight -Rose on the radar of College scouts; Belgrave injured

Jun 27, 2018 Sports

Felix-Hamilton

Travis-Belgrave

By Calvin Chapman in Suriname compliments of
Hopkinson Mining, Bounty Farm and Mohamed’s Enterprise

A long basketball rivalry between neighbours Suriname and Guyana will be revived tonight at the Anthony Nesty Sporthal when the teams play each other in the night’s feature game at 21:00hrs (20:00hrs Guyana time).
Guyana’s coach, Junior Hercules, boldly stated that, “He expects Guyana to come out with high energy to match Suriname’s intensity and exceed it. Our players will come out with a sense of history which has seen them eventually lose games after being in strong positions in the third and final quarters; we will not make those mistakes again.”
A victory for either team will see the winners’ book a spot in the semi-final of this Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) men’s Championship which also serves as the pre-qualifiers for the FIBA Americas’ Championship.
So Far, Guyana won both of their opening games, defeating Grenada 93-64 and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) 104-102. Meanwhile, Suriname thrashed St. Lucia 80-61 in their opening game before scraping to a 69-67 victory over Grenada that Guyana had soundly beaten on Sunday night.
Stanton Rose, Captain of the Guyana unit who had played for his club Bounty Colts against Suriname last month as part of the home team’s preparations for the ongoing tourney, is positive that Guyana will overcome the Dutchmen in tonight’s matchup.
“We are confident of winning the next game against Suriname mainly because we know what they will come with. I’ve seen their games played so far and they are running the same tactics they used against Colts in the two-match warm up series early last month”, Rose noted.
Rose, who scored a game high 41 points in Guyana’s win against St. Vincent & the Grenadines on Monday night, posited that once his team continues with the same intensity they should top the group easily.

The tireless, guard and captain Stanton Rose was on the court most of the match and on the ball most of the time Guyana was in possession.

Guyana will be at least a man short in the squad due to a Felix Hamilton decision to leave the team during the period they were down by 11 points to SVG in their 104-102 double overtime victory last night. Speaking to Kaieteur Sport, Hamilton expressed disgruntlement over not having enough playing time. However, his absence may be a blessing in disguise because the Guyanese managed to overturn the deficit and eventually win the game after he left. The 33-year-old Antigua & Barbuda based player was already en route home since yesterday morning.
Travis Belgrave, who has been an important facet in Guyana’s defensive structure, is doubtful to be in the Golden Arrowhead’s lineup tonight after limping off in extra-time after suffering a knee injury, the coach and physio will make the final decision on whether he will play or not tomorrow.
Some good news shared by coordinator of the CBC championships, Patrick Haynes, with Kaieteur Sport, is that Baylor University of Texas; one of the top 12 College basketball teams in the United States, has expressed interest in acquiring the 18-year-old Point Guard, Rose. This is welcomed news for Guyana’s captain since his aim was to make a big impact on the tournament.
In addition, the Kwakwani teen has also caught the eye of some 1st division teams in the USA that will be monitoring his performance throughout the tournament.