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It has been three years since Guyana last participated in the Caribbean Basketball Championship (CBC), but president of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF), David Patterson is “over 80% sure” that Guyana will be contesting next year’s event.
The CBC last saw Guyana in 2007 when the biennial tournament was held in Puerto Rico but the national team did not participate in last year’s tournament held in the British Virgin Islands due to “financial constraints.”
The GABF head is confident that Guyana will take part in next year’s CBC.
According to Patterson when contacted by Stabroek Sport via telephone yesterday, the GABF intends to send both a senior male and female contingent to the championships.
Though Caribbean countries are currently bidding to host the tournament and a host nation has not yet been identified, the tournament is scheduled to be held in “the first two weeks of June,” Patterson said.
He added that there will be a meeting of the Caribbean Basketball Confederation General Council in January of 2011, where the host nation will be named.
Patterson is a member of the General Council.
The staging of the event is staggered between the northern and southern countries of the Caribbean and since the last tournament was held in the northern Caribbean (The British Virgin Islands), next year’s tournament will be hosted by a southern Caribbean territory.
This is the main reason Patterson is assuring that Guyana will be in next year’s event.
“Since the tournament will be staged in a southern Caribbean country it’s likely that the teams would not be required to possess visas in order to travel to the host country,” Patterson stated. This, the GABF boss noted, will make travel expenses less costly which increases the likelihood of Guyana’s participation at the tournament.
The CBC or Caribebasket tournament, is sponsored by the Fédération Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) and is contested by national basketball teams from the Caribbean.
There are currently 24 Caribbean countries eligible to compete in this event and these countries make up Caribbean Basketball Confederation.
The top four teams from the CBC typically earn a spot to compete in another FIBA-sponsored tournament, ‘Centrobasket’ where national teams from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean participate.
At Centrobasket the teams compete for spots in the FIBA Americas Championship, from which they can qualify for the FIBA World Championship or Olympics. With so much riding on participation at the CBC, Patterson is assuring that Guyana will be contesting the CBC and is aiming for a spot in the top four.
Flashback
The FIBA CBC, formerly known as the CARICOM Basketball Championship until 2002, was contested annually.
Patterson explained that the annual hosting of the tournament became a burden for some Caribbean territories participating in the event, so a decision was finalized by the Caribbean Basketball Confederation to host the event every two years.
Guyana’s participation in the CBC dates back to 1981. Under the presidency of John Yates, the GABF was influential in setting up 1981’s inaugural CBC, which Guyana hosted and secured a bronze medal by placing third in the then six-team contest.
Inclusive of 2007, both male and female national teams played in seven of 20 CBC’s held up to 2009 and only won the title once by the 1996 female team.
The male team’s best placing was second in the 1992 tournament and they also had three third place finishes – 1981, 1996 and 2000.
In 2007 a team of players who were all overseas-based represented Guyana after the four local players who had been selected had their United States of America visa applications denied. That year Guyana finished eighth.
Preparation
Patterson revealed that the GABF is looking at all angles in terms of fielding a national side that will be highly competitive and capable enough to achieve the GABF’s goal of having a top four placing at the CBC.
According to Patterson, the first step in this process, entails observing local players currently participating in local competitions such as the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association League.
This will enable the GABF to recognize strong players for the next step of the male team’s preparation, which is scheduled for May of next year.
“We will be selecting the best players [senior players] from the local tournaments,” Patterson said.
He explained that next May, the GABF will host a number of male and female overseas players eligible to compete on the national team and their respective teams such as the Washington DC Jammers, who was here recently for the International Basketball Series held last August.
“From the overseas teams we will be selecting the best eligible players,” Patterson declared. Other players eligible for the selection process which Patterson stated will be done in the form of a competition between the various teams, inclusive of a select local team, are semi-professional players such as Andrew Ifill, who currently plays in Trinidad and Tobago among other semi-professional players around the region and in the United States.
“We are looking at all eligible players,” Patterson stated.
He also pointed out that the GABF was even trying to make contact with Indiana Pacers point guard, Darren Collison, son of Guyana’s track stars June Griffith and Dennis Collison.
Patterson assured that Guyana’s CBC team will be selected immediately following next May’s competition.
For the females, their preparation will begin prior to the males. They will be training locally for overseas competitions in Suriname and Antigua that the GABF will organise to give the female team “international experience” ahead of next year’s CBC.