With the Goodwill International Series against Grenada set to commence Friday, the Guyana National Basketball Team received a timely boost with the news that established ball-handler Ray Victor is expected to arrive on local shores tomorrow [Thursday] to form part of the squad.
This was disclosed by head-coach Junior Hercules during a brief interview with Stabroek Sport.
“Ray Victor is part of the championship team, arguably the third best player, in some regards the second best player on the team. He is a combo guard who can shoot, play defense and has good leadership skills,” said Hercules.
Hercules said Victor would be an asset to the team in the series.
“This is a huge asset to us in the series. He has always been excited to represent his country of birth, he would love to be available on an earlier date but circumstances didn’t permit. He would have been exposed to the level of training we would have been embarking on so the only challenge remain is his possible conditioning.”
Grenada is due to arrive tomorrow for the three-match series which will be held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Homestretch Avenue. The fixtures will be held on the 6th, 7th and 8th. Guyana is presently ranked 97th globally, with Grenada positioned 117th.
Quizzed about the status of the team’s preparation, Hercules revealed, “We have been training outdoors which ideally is not suitable, we had to deal with the elements of the weather, time off issues for players who would have had work commitments so preparation has been a challenge. I am still confident however of putting together the best team based on resources available.”
He added that the final roster will be finalized before Friday.
The present training roster comprises Harold Adams [Small Forward], Travis Belgrave [Small Forward], Dave Causeway [Point Guard], Akeem Crandon [Power Forward], Jamal Gilkes [Small Forward], Orlan Glasgow [Small Forward], Yonnick Tappin [Shooting Guard], Timothy Thompson [Centre], Dominic Vincente [Shooting Guard], Shaine Webster [Centre], Nikkoloi Smith [Shooting Guard], Kevon Wiggins [Combo Guard], Terron Welch [Shooting Guard], Nathan Saul [Shooting Guard], Travis Burnette [Point Guard] and Marlon Chesney [Point Guard].
