Former national point guard and captain Lugard Mohan and Aubrey Younge have been successful at their Federation of International Basketball Association (FIBA) Officials Certification Course, which was held in Denver, Colorado, USA from June 19-22, boosting Guyana’s pool of certified referees to three.
Prior to their certification, Guyana only had one referee with FIBA status in Sherwin Henry of Linden.
“I’m relieved and satisfied that we were able to come out successful,” said Mohan, Guyana’s former national captain and two- time CARICOM All-star point guard. He will now join Cecil Chin as the second national player to become a FIBA accredited referee.
Mohan said that the hardest task for them was passing the fitness test which they did with flying colours and then they knew that the rest would be history.
“Well now that we have accomplished what we have always wanted, I think we would be looking at setting up an official association, which is not only for referees, but table officials and everybody. Also we would have to get the rest up to speed with the new three referees per game,” the former national player added.
He explained that although Henry is certified, the three referees per game ruling was introduced after he (Henry) did his recertification course.
Mohan acknowledged that this would be considered his highest achievement since being involved in basketball but he wanted that crowning moment to be winning a Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) championship.
Mohan first featured in the 1994 championship which was then known as the CARICOM championship and that happened to be the last time Guyana hosted the event.
That year, they finished second and in 1995 he was named captain of the team and remained in that capacity until 2000.
Second place was Guyana’s highest achievement at the games in the male category since the females won it in 1996 when the championship was held in Trinidad and Tobago.
Mohan’s last run as captain and a chance to lift the title was in 2000, but that year he had to settle for third once again. Since then Guyana only played once more in 2007 but by then he had already hung up his sneakers.
“Winning that championship would have been like my high point, but honestly, I’m just as happy with this and would do my best at it too,” the 37-year-old Mohan said.
“I’m happy with the accomplishment, very excited right now,” said Younge when contacted by Stabroek Sport yesterday.
“It wasn’t hard really you know, well we had the most recent rule book so all we did was apply ourselves and the rest was easy,” he added.
Younge who acts as the sidekick to Mohan on the sideline for Dyna’s Ravens Basketball club where they served as coach and assistance coach respectively said that ultimately they would sever ties with the team and focus on officiating in the sport.
For the 38-year-old Younge his success came through determination since he was down to make his first attempt at the course in 2007, the same year Henry first earned his distinction.
The course was held in St Kitts and Nevis and turned out to be the last time it was hosted in the Caribbean and then financial woes were cited as the reason he missed out.
The duo attributed their success to the Haynes Brothers Foundation, a non-profitable organization (NGO) based in New Jersey, USA and headed by Guyanese Paul and Patrick Haynes.
It was through their intervention that Mohan and Younge were able to make the voyage to the US to gain entry to the pool of FIBA certified referees.
The Haynes Foundation in a release via E-mail congratulated both Mohan and Younge on their paramount achievement and said that they are looking forward to increasing Guyana’s referee pool even further.
The newly-appointed FIBA officials expressed their gratitude to President of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) Godwin McPherson, Robert ‘Bobby’ Cadogan and the United States Embassy.
They also indicated appreciation of some sponsors including Guyana Power and Light (GPL), Demerara Power Company, Patterson Associates, Kings Row Barbell Club, John Fernandes Limited, Wind Jammers Hotel, Hits and Jams Television (HJTV), the Ravens Basketball Club, the National Sports Commission (NSC) and a number of friends.
