National men’s head coach Mark Agard stated that while he does not want to be overconfident, he is buoyant his charges will exceed expectations when Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championship commences on July 1st in Tortola, British Virgin Islands (BVI).
Speaking in an exclusive interview via phone, Agard said:“I am very confident in the team but I don’t want to be overconfident. Not because we have these guys who can play well that means we will win, we still have execute.” He added:“Our perimeter game is as good as any team in the tournament. We got some excellent shooters and passers of the ball and we also have individuals who can attack the rim. We are in the vicinity of creating history for Guyana, we just have to execute.
“I think we are highly favored when looking at the matchups. We matchup favourably against BVI. We have similar type of players but because they are playing on home court, we still have to play hard. “We are faster, stronger and our perimeter game when on is unstoppable. Once we shoot over 60 percent we will beat anyone. It’s the same thing against USVI, whoever executes better on the night will be the winner.”
Questioned about the specific areas that will be critical to his side’s performance, Agard said:“The defence has to be immaculate and we have to get stops. The teams are evenly balanced, it’s just that on the night who executes better and consistently, will come out victorious”.
Agard further said “No team is a walkover, we just have to play our basketball. We treat each and every team as an equal threat. We just have go out there and play smart and execute. We got to execute our system and play defence”.
Guyana’s complete 15 member playing squad reads Rawle Marshall (Captain), Akeem Kanhai, Andrew Ifill, Andre De Florimonte, Dwayne Roberts, Ray Victor, Richard Hall, Ryan Stephney, Ryan Gullen, Shane Webster, Shelroy Thomas, Tyler Persaud, Keron McKenzie, Kevon Creppy and Gordon Klaiber.
On the management side, Kevin Joseph will act as Assistant Coach while Junior Hercules and Troy Greene will serve in the capacity of Team Manager and Assistant Manager respectively.
Guyana who is placed in Group-B along with BVI, USVI and Barbados, will depart local shores today. They will open their campaign on Tuesday July 1st against local side BVI. Guyana’s best finish in the event was a silver medal placing in the 1994 edition as the host nation.
Meanwhile the GABF officially named their female national side that will participate in the championships (CBC) in Tortola, British Virgin Islands from July 8th-12th. The team which is coached by Ann Gordon and her assistant Brian Carter, consists of 12 players. The complete squad is Natasha Alder (Captain), Shakelia Sampson, Sonia Rodney, Tamara Hunter, Shauna Chester, Kristy Roberts, Ginelle Ifill, Latoya Rodney, Philomena George, Kean Andrews, Necosia Mitchell and Natasha Andrews.
The local side who are scheduled to depart local shores on July 6, has been placed in Group-B with Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Jamaica. Guyana will open their campaign on July 8 against Jamaica. They are expected to return on July 14.
