The Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) has officially shortlisted their final travelling roster to face off against Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) rivals Suriname in a three match international series in the Dutch nation.
GABF President Nigel Hinds during an invited comment said:”The federation has
expended personal funds and invested significantly in preparatory costs as they await sought after funding from the Guyana Government, the Guyana Corporate Community and the Guyana Olympic Association to ensure Guyana’s competitive participation at the 2015 Caribbean Basketball Confederation Championships; this being the ultimate basketball event for CARICOM territories.”
He further said the federation believes in the quote of the late American sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois which states:”Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. It is today that our best work can be done and not some future day or future year. It is today that we fit ourselves for the greater usefulness of tomorrow. Today is the seed time, now are the hours of work, and tomorrow comes the harvest and the playtime.”
The tour which takes place from May 1st-4th, is being used as part of the preparation for the upcoming 2015 CBC Championship in the British Virgin Islands from June 16th-20th.
Guyana’s first team which will be under the stewardship of Head-Coach Darcel Harris, will consist of Captain Akeem Kanhai, Ryan Gullen, Shelroy Thomas, Travis Burnett, Royston Siland, Dominic Vicente, Dave Causway, Jason Squires, Jermaine Slater, Nikkoloi Smith, Harold Adams and Rudy James. The players that will be travelling as part of the reserve team include Chris Williams, Randy Richardson, Terron Welch, Amoniki Archibald, Stephon Gillis, Fabian Johnson, Kurt Elias and Niko Fraser.
Marlon Rodrigues will serve as the Assistant Coach while Troy Green and Dennis Clarke will hold the posts of Team Manager and Statistician correspondingly.
Hinds will also be a part of the travelling contingent alongside referees Dexter Douglas and Rawle Toney. Guyana will play their first game against their Dutch counterparts at 21:00hrs local time on May 1st at the Anthony Nesty Indoor Stadium. They will then compete in their second match at 20:00hrs the following day and will conclude their tour on May 3rd at 20:00hrs in their final fixture. Guyana will depart local shores for the Dutch nation at 14:00hrs on May 1st and will return May 4th.
Guyana is billed to compete in the 2015 CBC Championships in the British Virgin Islands from June 16th-20th. Presently, Guyana is positioned in group-A of the event alongside Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas and Bermuda.
The two top teams in the group will qualify for the championship’s final four section. Guyana finished fifth at the 2014 edition of the CBC Championships held in the same nation. Guyana in their recent international outing, swept CBC rival Bermuda 3-0 during the month of March at home.
