At 29, Andrew Ifill has undoubtedly become one of Guyana’s most accomplished basketball players.
He has turned in outstanding performances wherever the game takes him, whether it is in the Middle Eastern country of Saudi Arabia; the city of Tijuana in Mexico or under the sun in the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Ifill recently returned from playing in the Mexican Professional Basketball League (Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional) with the Galgos de Tijuana club where he spent five months and averaged 16 points per game.
In an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport he indicated his desire to represent the land of his birth once more.
Unfortunately, he will have to wait until next year as Guyana will not be participating at this year’s Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championships which will be held in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) from June 28-July 4.
Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) President Godwin McPherson has said that it is impossible to attend the championships because of financial reasons but Ifill scoffed at the excuse.
“It would have been great if I could have represented Guyana right now…it is something that I really want to do presently but I don’t see it happening no time soon because of the politics and so on….
“The federation says that they are not getting any support from the government and such but there are plenty things that they could have done to come up with the money,” he added.
“Right now it is not a good feeling for me knowing that I can’t represent Guyana and especially since I don’t see it happening any time soon.
“But I’m just going to focus on my game and work on getting better,” he added.
Ifill, showing that he can play defense, refuted the suggestion that he was being offered citizenship in Trinidad and Tobago where he resides at present so that he can represent that island at the CBC championship and further afield.
He had played an important role in the Guyana national team that finished third in the 2000 CBC Championships in Barbados.
However, in 2007, when Guyana returned to the Caribbean championships, Ifill was among five local players who were denied US visas and unable to join the overseas-based players in Puerto Rico.
However, since then things have taken a turn for the better and Ifill had successful stints in Saudi Arabia and most recently in Mexico.
He competes in the Pro-Basketball League in Trinidad and has helped his side Shak Attack to win the TT north zone championships, become runners-up in the national league and winners of the Super Ten Championship.
Local basketball fans got a chance to witness ‘Mr. Dunk’ at his best in the recently-concluded Georgetown Inter-Ward Basketball Championships where he led his team North Ruimveldt in retaining their title and claiming the tournament first prize of $500,000.
He amazed thousands with his on-point shooting and high flying manoeuvres and averaged well over 20 points per game which highlighted a run that placed him in line for the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
“I think the Inter-ward tournament was much more than I expected. Honestly, I never expected it to be this good and to see so many people coming out and the games were really competitive.
“The officiating was a bit poor I think though and maybe they need to work on that but other than that I really enjoyed the tournament,” Ifill said. “I’ve seen plenty young players like the young player from Linden Akeem Kanhai, Ryan Stephney, Ryan Gullen and a lot more that I don’t know by name, but I think exposure is the problem and if they don’t get the exposure it makes no sense.”
The average age of the players described above is approximately 20 years and Ifill is calling on the authorities to help them realize their potential by seeking scholarships since the players are also doing well academically.
“I’m still learning at present and I feel I have a far way to go and I have a lot more things happening in the near future or presently I should say,” said Ifill.
