Guyana set for FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup in Miami

Guyana set for FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup in Miami

Oct 08, 2022 Sports

By Rawle Toney

Kaieteur News – All systems are in place for Guyana’s participation at the second edition of the FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup tournament in Miami.

Joy Brown, Jada Mohan and Kesann Charles at the 2021 FIBA AmeriCup 3X3 tournament in Miami.

This is according to the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) General Secretary, Patrick Haynes, who told Kaieteur News that the final team selection will be announced following an up-coming technical meeting.

The tournament, which is set for November 4 – 6 at BayFront Park, will see the country’s male and female teams facing the USA in Group A. The men’s side will also play Guatemala, while the women are down to square-off against Colombia.

A total of 17 teams will compete in the men’s category, while Twelve teams will participate in the women’s championship and will start directly from the main draw.

As compared to the event last year, which was also hosted in Miami at Bayfront Park, both sides have automatically qualified for the tournament’s Main Draw.

Former AEK Athens ‘big man’ Delroy James and Deylon Bovell, the former Berkeley College stand-out point guard, are expected to form part of the four-member team that will also feature Stanton Rose Jr and Nikkoloi Smith.

Haynes pointed out that the GABF’s only concern is the availability of professional player Joy Brown.

At the inaugural tournament last year, Brown, along with Kesann Charles and Jada Mohan, made up Guyana’s female team.

Brown did the bulk of the lifting for the women and became an instant favourite for fans at the tournament.

Nikkoloi Smith is expected to be in action for Guyana at the 2022 FIBA AmeriCup 3X3 tournament.

She propelled Guyana to the top of Group C in the qualification round, which saw them moving on to face Chile and Mexico in the Main Draw.

Brown put up 31 points in the qualifying round alone, including 18 in one game. She scored another 20 points in the pool stage for a Guyana team that didn’t make it to the bracket.

“Well, Charles is already in Miami since she migrated. We also have Kenesha Leacock (from Linden) and we’re working on sorting out Mariam McKenzie’s Guyanese passport issue,” Haynes said.

Tamara Hunter will be listed as their standby player, as Haynes reminded of the Kwakwani player’s uniform woes at last year’s tournament that kept her from not competing. Nonetheless, Haynes said this time around, that will be sorted.

McKenzie currently plays with Clube Amigos do Basquete, also known as CAB Madeira in the Portugal Professional league.

With regards to sponsorship, Haynes said a commitment was made by KFC and the GTT to once again be on board.

At the 2021 FIBA AmeriCup, Guyana’s female team came from Joy Brown, Jada Mohan and Jesanna Charles, while Ryan Stephney, Tyron Hamid, Travis Burnett, and Timothy Thompson made-up the men’s team.

The men and women representing the ‘592’ at the first-of-its- kind event turned in some impressive performances, but when the dust settled at Bayfront Park, it was the women who found more success.