Guyana to host eight nations for this weekend’s u-18 3x3 tourney

Guyana to host eight nations for this weekend’s u-18 3×3 tourney

Oct 19, 2018 Sports

From left, Navjeet Sira (Change Foundation Director), Mike Singh, Dexter Douglas, Theren Bullock, Nigel Hinds, Shemar France (Team Guyana) and Mark Agard (Team Guyana Coordinator) at yesterday’s launch.

The 2018 FIBA/International Basketball Foundation (IBF) Antilles 3×3 U-18 basketball tournament which tips off tomorrow at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) was officially launched yesterday at the Sleepin International Hotel, Brickdam.
The tournament which is being coordinated by the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) and the IBF will see the ‘Land of Many Waters’ playing host to eight nations, Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, Aruba, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique and Antigua & Barbuda in the two-day tournament.
In addition, as was the case in the 2017 tournament in St. Lucia which saw Guyana’s male team losing in the final, all the officials will be from the Guyana Basketball Official Council (GBOC) which is headed by Dexter Douglas.
Theren Bullock of Switzerland, an IBF Associate, posited during the launch that, “We the IBF always have a social component as part of each our events. And, the Change Foundation out of England will be partnering with us to teach youths how to use basketball to overcome social issues little by little and initiate change through their peers or whoever they might come in contact with.”
The Change Foundation will lead the Youth Leadership seminar that is scheduled to run from 08:45hrs to 17:00hrs today at the CASH while tomorrow and Sunday’s sessions will last from 08:45hrs to 12:15hrs.
Bullock cited the meteoric rise of the 3×3 game which was first introduced on the world stage at the 2010 Youth Olympics and now 3×3 has been announced to join 5×5 at the 2020 Tokyo games.
The IBF associate explained that 3×3 give the opportunities for smaller countries to be more competitive while shedding light on the small nation of Andorra being able to get past world number two Spain not so long ago in the format.
Tomorrow, matches will begin from 14:00hrs with both male and female. According to head of the GABF, Nigel Hinds, the visiting teams and local patrons should expect an atmosphere with a local Guyanese flavor inclusive of entertainment.
In addition to the competitive games, there will be a skills contest for girls, a three-point contest for both males and females and a dunk contest for lads. Hinds further said that this is a great opportunity from an educational and basketball front for our youths to benefit from FIBA which funds the IBF.
Admission to the venue is free of cost on both days. The tournament will see the participation of teams 3×3 male and female teams that would’ve have won the qualification tournaments in their respective nations.
Banks DIH through their Rainforest Water and Malta Supreme brands is the flagship sponsor of the event.