President of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) Godwin McPherson says Guyana will not be represented at this year’s Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championship in the British Virgin Islands because the time given for preparation was too short.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, McPherson said that after consulting with the two most active affiliates – Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) and Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) – and his executive members, it was decided that they would not be able to effectively assemble a team for the June 28-July 4 championships.
The local basketball boss stated that the GABF had even gone the extra mile of short-listing 13 players (seven locals and six
overseas-based players) for the Guyana squad and they were all selected based on their performance this year.
Considering the likely psychological impact the absence from the championship would have on the basketball fraternity, McPherson said they would be engaging in a series of events with the aim of regaining the interest of the senior players in Guyana.
Guyana has not hosted the CBC championship since 1994 and after the CBC Annual General Meeting in February where the Caribbean governing body disclosed that they were seeking a host for the games, the GABF considered the opportunity of returning the championship here where it first started in 1981.
Immediately, a letter was sent to the CBC indicating interest in hosting the event and the CBC accepted and on March 1 they requested a “Letter of Commitment” signed by the GABF and a representative of the Government or National Olympic Committee, expressing their commitment to fund and host the event.
A deadline of March 9 was given to the local body to present the letter to the CBC but this did not materialise. Representing the Government was Director of Sports Neil Kumar, who had publicly stated that they would throw their weight behind the GABF and subsequently the two parties began moving towards returning the championships to Guyana.
McPherson said yesterday that after seeking the assistance of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) he was told that the GOA would be fully supportive of the event but the Government of Guyana should also be involved.
Budget hurdle
McPherson said that he then met with Kumar regarding a $45,510,400 budget which was in accordance with the hosting requirements sent to the GABF from the CBC, but from then matters began to get sour between the two parties.
McPherson also noted that outside of the meeting with Kumar, the GABF sought to engage other stakeholders who wanted to see the government onboard before joining.
GABF insolvent
He however acknowledged that the GABF was insolvent and had been hoping that the CBC tourney, just like it did in 1994, would have provided his body with the great financial boost that it so desperately needed.Under the rules of the CBC tournament, each player participating in the event is required to pay the host country US$30 per day and this McPherson said would have also counted in cutting costs. “We had to set a budget at a (worst-case) figure but it could have been slashed significantly if it was properly looked at. We set it based on the hosting requirement sent to us by the CBC,” said McPherson.
He also pointed out that he was told of a meeting between himself and Sport Minister Frank Anthony along with Permanent Secretary Keith Booker and Kumar. That meeting, he said, would have put some finishing touches on the budget but up to this day he is still waiting and since then Guyana’s desire to host the CBC championships died a natural death.
