NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – The Bahamas will host the men’s and women’s editions of the Caribbean Championships this year.
Organisers are expecting that 10 men’s and eight women’s teams will contest the championships, scheduled to take place from July 25 to August 5 at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.
The economic realities of life in the Caribbean have taken its toll on the pockets of a few of the possible entries, and the Caribbean Basketball Confederation is leaving the door open for last minute entries, having adjusted its closing date for registration.
“The CBC is seeking to register one more [men’s] team to make the number of [men’s] teams competing to be 10, and seeking to register two more [women’s] teams to make the number of women’s teams competing to be six,” said a release on the regional governing body’s website.
On the men’s side, hosts Bahamas, Antigua & Barbuda, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guyana, Turks & Caicos Islands, United States Virgin Islands, as well as defending champions Jamaica have registered to attend.
Only hosts Bahamas, Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago, and United States Virgin Islands have confirmed their participation on the women’s side. Jamaica won the title two years ago in Tortola, where they proved too good for hosts British Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico won the previous women’s championship four years ago, when they crushed Trinidad & Tobago 67-43 on home soil.
The CBC Championship is a FIBA-sponsored basketball tournament where national teams from the Caribbean participate. There are currently 24 Caribbean countries that can contest the event.
The top three or four teams typically earn berths to the Centrobasket Tournament, where they challenge for places in the FIBA Americas Championship, from which they can qualify for the World Championship or the Olympics.
Celebration of the tournament typically is every two years, and Bahamas has been the most successful men’s side with six titles.
Until 2002, this tournament was called the CARICOM Basketball Championship, and through 2009, the tournament had been held 20 times.
