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CBC men’s Championship in Suriname… Gold for Guyana! – Rose voted MVP after leading Guyana to 83-70 win over Antigua
Team Guyana celebrate after clinching the Caribbean men’s title.
Stanton Rose receives his MVP award for Coordinator of the event, Patrick Haynes.
Stanton Rose leaps for a layup during Guyana’s Championship final win against Antigua & Barbuda on Saturday night.
By Calvin Chapman in Suriname compliments of
Mohamed’s Enterprise, Bounty Farm and Hopkinson Mining
The Anthony Nesty Sporthal was not packed to capacity for the final of the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championship on Saturday night after the home team, Suriname, had lost their third place playoff to Barbados but the remaining Surinamese fans were backing Antigua & Barbuda majorly because Guyana had defeated their team in the first semifinal match the previous night.
The hostility of the crowd, which the unbeaten Guyana side had endured throughout the tournament, continued to be ineffective and Skipper, Stanton Rose, stepped up with a match-leading 23-point performance to guide Guyana to an extraordinary, inaugural CBC men’s title.
Since the beginning of the CBC Championships in 1981, Guyana has only medaled thrice with a third place finish in the initial tournament before a previous best of a silver medal at home in 1994 followed by a bronze medal finish at the 2000 edition in Barbados.
The indiscipline, Felix Hamilton who had left the Guyana squad during their opening win against Grenada, would have been kicking himself, as the Guyanese led the final for the majority of the four quarters and the prospect of capturing the Gold medal was imminent. They quickly raced to a seven point lead at the end of the first quarter with the score 21-15, but maintained narrow two-leads at the end of the first half and third quarter before kicking into top gear to completely take the game away from the Islanders who suffered their second defeat of the event after losing to the disqualified Haitian team during Group A round robin action.
Co-captain Ray Victor netted 13 points, while the consistent Shaine Webster along with Power Forward Anthony Moe; who was included in the all-star five of the tournament with Rose, both scored 12 points during Guyana’s win.
Guyana’s defence was rock solid with Victor being the number one menace with a game-leading six steals, while Travis Belgrave and Moe had three each. Nineteen-year-old center, Timothy Thompson demonstrated the controlled aggression which Coach Junior Hercules asked of him as everyone continued to execute their roles selfishly in the final when it mattered most.
stanton Rose and Anthony Moe pose with the All-star five plaques following the final on Saturday at the Anthony Nesty Sporthal.
Ernest Scott III hooped 19 points for the losing finalists as Guyana, who finished last in the previous CBC tournament in 2015, announced their arrival as a powerhouse in Caribbean Basketball.
With their top two finish in the tournament, which also serves as the Caribbean Pre-qualifiers for the International Basketball Federation’s (FIBA) Americup, the relatively young team which comprises of four teenagers will move on to the next stage of qualifiers in Puerto Rico this September.
Coach Hercules posited after the victory that, “I am so excited and humble, I could cry but I don’t have any tears right now. Thanks to everyone that supported us… and I’m hopeful that our current (government) administration can see (the magnitude of) our achievement and support us.”
Co-captain Victor posited that despite arguments which most teams have, Guyana went out on the court unified; pushing each other which he believed had a big impact on the team overcoming tough situations to eventually play unbeaten to win the Championship.
In conclusion, Hercules genially expressed gratitude to the host nation, “Special thanks to Suriname for pushing us through all those years, all those defeats has helped make us stronger.”
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