-basketball federation still silent
Guyana’s senior national men’s basketball team received a ‘technical’ foul because the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) failed to confirm its attendance at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation’s (CBC) June 28-July 4 Championship in the British Virgin Islands BVI.
Wednesday, April 15, was the deadline to confirm attendance at the championships. However, the local federation divulged nothing to the public and/or the basketball fraternity; apart from when it was bidding to host the games.
In an effort to get answers, Stabroek Sport made contact with President of the CBC, Senator Usie Richards, via email, asking if Guyana had indicated its intention to participate.
His response: “Thanks for your inquiry. Yes the deadline of April 15 has passed and I can say with definitive terms that Guyana DID NOT register a team to participate”.
He was reluctant to state whether Guyana would be granted an extension or how many countries would be taking part in this year’s championships.
It was stated in the email that all information regarding the CBC Senior Men’s competition would be released after April 24 when a press conference is scheduled in the host country.
GABF boss Godwin McPherson will now be hard-pressed to say to Guyana’s basketball circuit what really went wrong and how negotiations fell short. But this would fit well into the last response given by McPherson with regard to the CBC championships.
Wednesday’s edition of Stabroek Sport quoted the GABF boss as saying, “Look right now, I don’t have the time, but you all can continue writing and reporting. I honestly fed up with all this. Like I said, I don’t have the time. Every day you open the papers is something and I’m just fed up. So you guys [the media] just continue, I done.”
Several local players were edging to showcase their talent at the championships, which features some of the Caribbean’s and world’s best ball players.
At the last championships held in Puerto Rico, an overseas-based team represented the land of many waters.
Guyana had hosted the first CBC tournament which was then called the Caricom Basketball Championship in August of 1981, under then president John Yates. Guyana finished third in the men’s section.
Seven years later (1988) Guyana again participated in the games right here and the men finished fifth. 1994 was the last time the championships was hosted here and the men finished second, which would turn out to be their best placing, and the women fourth.
In 1996 when the games were held in Trinidad and Tobago, the women won Guyana’s lone title while the men played to a credible third. After then the Golden Arrowhead vanished from the tournament but returned in 2000 coached by Bernard Daniels and captained by Lugard Mohan to place third in Barbados.
Several local players rose to prominence as a result of the CBC tournament with the most successful being Mohan, Auric Tappin, Leon Christian and Steve Nurse, since they were all selected to the Caricom all-star team.
Mohan also holds the record for being the Guyanese player to register over 100 points at Caricom championships and is also among only three Guyanese (Tappin and Christian being the other two) to be selected more than once on the All-Star team.
