Belgrave looking to make big impact

Mar 08, 2021 Sports

Travis Belgrave (with ball) during CBC 2018

Kaieteur News – As preparations by the national senior men’s basketball team heighten for next month’s International Basketball Federation’s (FIBA) 2023 world cup (WC) pre-qualifiers, 23-year-old Guard; Travis Belgrave, during an interview with Kaieteur Sport, has signaled his intention to carry the intensity to help Guyana create history.
Belgrave is hoping to be part of the 12-player squad that will represent the ‘land of many waters’ in their first appearance at the FIBA WC pre-qualifiers in El Salvador next month.
The modest Eagles basketball club player will surely be in coach Junior Hercules’ plans after playing decent roles in Guyana’s maiden Caribbean Championship triumph in 2018, while he was also part of the side that played in the FIBA Americas pre-qualifiers in 2019 and for the 3-0 sweep of Grenada in December 2019 as well.
The last time competitive basketball would’ve been played in Guyana would’ve been that home series against Grenada in December 2019 but Belgrave revealed that he has always been particularly disciplined with his workout scheduled because depending on local tournaments to stay on edge is not a possibility in Guyana with the last Club Championship being contested since 2018.
In addition, the pandemic hasn’t done any favours with the closure of all gyms for the good part of a year but the young man has still managed to keep his fitness up with home exercises and conditioning work.
Although the national men’s basketball team are only allowed to train twice a week at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), Belgrave is satisfied with the work the unit has been putting in despite the circumstances and praised the energy of everyone.
“It’s not easy but everyone is going about their business with great positivity. We have a few challenges but we won’t let that stop us, we will give it our all and make the nation proud, the same way we did in Suriname in 2018 when we won the CBC Championships against all the odds”, Belgrave posited.
Head of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF), Mike Singh, had shared with Kaieteur Sport earlier in the week that the team will need a total of $15 million to cover expenses on the trip to the Central America country with $1 million being received from the state so far.