A Kwakwani basketball team returned home last Sunday after a successful week-long development basketball tournament in Antigua.
The team, which was greeted by the Deputy Director of Sports Evan Jones on their arrival in Antigua, won all of their matches on the development tour and, according to Coach Ann Gordon; the team was the talk of the town.
The team played three games including a game against an All Star school team and the Kwakwani team was left standing undefeated at the end of the tour although one of the scheduled matches, which was scheduled for an outdoor court, was not contested.
I
n the final game against the All Star team, Guyana pulled out a nail biter to win 54-53 with Dominique Douglas showing superior leadership skills on his way to a 20-point game.
“It was extremely successful for us – the guys played well and I think the Antiguans were surprised with the level of basketball we played, especially the on-court players because at times they seemed winded when we still had energy,” Gordon explained.
Douglas, who was the most valuable player (MVP) locally when the National School Basketball Festival (NSBF) ended, gained the same type of recognition in the development league in Antigua as he not only scored well but organized the team by showing his leadership skills on court.
“They were surprised with Dominque (Douglas) and (Joseph) Gilkes because they played well – they kept mentioning their names on the TV programmes over there and it was great for us as a team,” Gordon told Stabroek Sport via telephone.
It was also revealed by Gordon that due to Kwakwani’s high level of play they even played against a college team with older athletes and that ended in a stalemate due to the rain.
It was noted by Gordon that they were leading about five minutes into the second half which she deemed as a win especially since the court got dry after the rain and the Antiguans refused to take to the court.
Gordon’s next hope for the Kwakwani players is for them to represent Guyana at the Inter-Guiana Games (IGG) and she is confident that they will make Guyana and Kwakwani proud again.
“I’m hoping that most of the guys will be a part of the IGG team this year, I know they will represent and make Guyana proud once they get the opportunity to,” Gordon mentioned in the telephone interview.
