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Guyana’s road to FIBA Americas tourney continues next month
On Sunday, it was confirmed that Guyana’s national men’s basketball team that won their first Caribbean Basketball Championship (CBC) last June, will begin the second step of their historic journey in qualifying for the 2021 International Basketball Federation’s (FIBA) Americup basketball championship, next month in Colombia.
Guyana’s men’s basketball team (center) will be in action next month in the FIBA Americas qualifiers but will funding be an issue?
According to Honourary Secretary of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF), Patrick Haynes, the tournament will be played on February 22nd, 23rd and 24th in Spanish speaking nation and he expects the GABF team to arrive on the 20th and leave on the 25th with the Bogota being the more likely city to host the qualifiers.
Guyana has been placed in Pool B of the qualifiers alongside Bolivia, Paraguay and the hosts, Colombia, with the top two teams qualifying for the Americas tournament that will also see powerhouses United States and Canada participating.
The qualifiers will be contested in the round-robin stage with each team playing each other once.
Paraguay are the highest ranked in the pool at 69th followed by Colombia with a world rank of 73rd while the Guyanese who recently broke into the top 100 are positioned 95th with Bolivia being the lowest ranked at 124th.
However, the Antigua and Barbuda team that Guyana made light work of in the Caribbean Basketball Championship (CBC) final are ranked 75th.
There are only six weeks remaining until the team’s proposed departure date and with the GABF’s elections set for this Saturday, the new executive will have to get straight to work since the projected travel costs alone is pegged at around $5million while accommodation, meals and travel within the city should be provided by the Colombian Basketball Federation.
Incumbent President, Nigel Hinds, has indicated that he will not be contesting the elections at the GABF’s AGM this Saturday but he noted that current Vice-President Kenrick Thomas might succeed him since there hasn’t been any indication of any other candidate’s willingness to run.
GABF Secretary Patrick Haynes (right) bestowing the CBC MVP award last June to Guyana’s Captain Stanton Rose.
Haynes noted to Kaieteur Sport during an interview yesterday that the new GABF Executive should be looking to prioritised the qualifiers participation.
The team should be encamped shortly according to Haynes while the Championship winning skipper, Stanton Rose, is currently attending Jacksonville College in the United States, while stand out performer Anthony Moe is outfitted with a semipro side in Albany, New York. Haynes explained that the two players shouldn’t have any problems being released to play in the qualifiers since the team will spend just six days in Colombia. (Calvin Chapman)
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