Manager of the Inter Guiana Goodwill Games basketball team (IGGG) Chris Bowman said he hopes that both the male and female basketball teams will give their best efforts when they compete against Suriname this weekend.
The basketball tournament will be held in Suriname just as it was in last year’s edition when Guyana placed last in both the male and female basketball tournaments. This year, Guyana will be competing solely against defending champions Suriname in the IGGG, playing two games over the weekend.
Speaking with Stabroek Sports yesterday, Bowman said,“I expect them to do their very best, I expect them to compete and we’ll see what happens…”
Attempting to address the issue of preparation, Bowman said with some reservation that preparation cannot be assessed in such a narrow view of a few weeks of training. Bowman said that preparation in his mind is a more expansive term which encompassed several other variables.
What Bowman was clear on was that Guyana’s 2011 IGG male team which did not win any of their games, was a better prepared team with more depth. Bowman said that further that the 2011 team “was the best group of talent that we had together in the last four IGG teams.”
Bowman said that that team was better ready to peak and possessed outstanding competitive greatness and this year’s team had not reach that point as yet.
However, the former Georgetown basketball sub-association president said that the team represents the best of the best of the junior basketball players and he expects them to give their best. Returning players Dominic Vincente, Dominque Douglas, Linden Fraser and Nikkoloi Smith are equipped with the experience of playing in the last two IGG basketball tournaments.
According to Bowman, when those returning players combine with a fresh group of players that have proved their outstanding talent in local school competitions, anything is possible.
With respect to the girls team, Bowman stated that they have been training together for a considerable period of time and expects them to give their utmost
“I think the girls will do well this year but I think they will win next year,” Bowman stated. According to Bowman the structure of basketball in Guyana is not conducive to their development as there are not tournaments to keep girls in competition.
Basketball and table tennis will be contested during the away phase of the IGGG. Suriname triumphed in the first phase in Guyana last weekend after winning the male and female volleyball competitions and the chess tournament while Guyana only won the cycling competitions.
The male team will be coached by former national captain Lugard Mohan while the female team will be coached by national coach Robert Cadogan. The male team comprised Nikkoloi Smith(Guyana Industrial Training College), Dominic Vincente (Marian Academy), Dominique Douglas(Kwakwani Secondary), Linden Fraser (Linden Technical Institute)and Dave Plass(Kwakwani Secondary) Travin Dryden (Wismar Christianburg Multilateral , Nyamebekyere Bacchus(President’s College), Elvis Thompson (Kwakwani Secondary), Leonard Primo (Kwakwani Secondary), Ahkeel Primo(Linden Technical Institute), Dwight Gray(Government Technical Institute) and Taquain Vieira (Marian Academy).
The girls’ team include Lowquantor Gibson, Tamara Hunter, Ginelle Ifill, Necosia Mitchell, Kadian Rowe, Kristy Roberts, Briawna Gordan and Denisha Layne.
