The Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) has inked a historic agreement to be a member of the inaugural ‘Caribe 3×3 Under 19 League Championship’, which is tentatively scheduled to be staged in Barbados in January 2021.
This was revealed by Junior Andrew Hercules, the GABF National 3×3 Coordinator during an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport yesterday.
Hercules said, “This is a huge moment for [the] sport of basketball in the region. While it is in the infancy stage, if all goes well, it could transform the path for Caribbean countries in their progress to qualify for major tournaments such as the Olympics. It would also change the dynamics of Caribbean basketball and could possibly create avenues following a successful staging, for the introduction of the format at other age groups inclusive of senior by the CBC [Caribbean Basketball Confederation].”
He added, “It could also serve as a catalyst for the journey into making an Olympic team because ultimately, for you to qualify as a team for major events, you need points. Every time you play your ranking increases.”
According to Hercules, “The countries that have led the way in creating this movement are Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia, St Maarten and Guyana. While there are other countries involved, the five, with Barbados as the leader, are basically the founding fathers. They will form a 3×3 League for the U19 Category which target schools.”
He revealed that Barbadian group F1 Sports and Entertainment Caribbean will govern and coordinate the tournament, adding, “FIBA [the International Basketball Federation] has shifted focus and wants more country integration, more of a social movement and mixing of the teams. They are shifted to the players and want to focus on that for this format.”
Queried if the tournament is recognised by the CBC, he said, “There is no official confirmation. However the reason why I am saying yes is because the Barbados Federation President is also the CBC President. His name is Glen Clarke so I would expect it to be a formality as they are the leader in this project and have signed on. Really and truly this helps everyone inclusive of the confederation.”
Hercules, who also holds the portfolio of National Men’s Head Coach, further disclosed, “This move was also endorsed by the authority for 3×3 in the world. FIBA uses them as a model for the format. All their workshops in the various continents, FIBA utilises them and they basically set up a 3×3 enterprise. They are 3×3 Unite and they are from the Netherlands. As a country, they placed second in the World Championships.”
Asked about the importance of the event for Guyana, he stated, “Locally, it means we would have an increase in the pool of new players entering the system and also increase the amount of tournaments being conducted for existing players. Internationally, it would provide the opportunity for players, who win their localised tournament, to test their abilities against players from the other Caribbean states.”
Quizzed about the basis for the creation of such a tourney, Hercules said, “This tournament was basically formalised to expose and give youth players more international experience before they enter the senior ranks. That was the rationale behind the creating [of] a tournament of this magnitude.”
Hercules added, “Basically, you have four opportunities to represent your country at the youth level if you started at age 15 so basically the idea was to give players an international foundation before they enter the senior ranks and we believe 3×3 is the best format to provide that. Easier to organise and to be played.”
He revealed that the concept for the event has been in the works for more than two years, as discussions started in 2017 during the first 3×3 tournament hosted in the Caribbean by FIBA.
