Regarded as the top two junior basketball players in the country, Richard Mohandatt of President’s College and Akeem Kanhai of Mackenzie High School (MHS) said that they are ready to leave their mark on this year’s National Schools Basketball Festival (NSBF) which bounced off on Sunday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.Speaking with Stabroek Sport yesterday, the duo each declared that they were here to do nothing else but win and after their first games, the message was clear.
Kanhai led MHS to a comprehensive 55-25 win over St Rose’s High School in a game where he entertained the crowd with his on the button passes, big blocked shots and marksman-like shooting from down town.
He capped the day when he executed an off the backboard alley-hoop two-handed slam and ended with 22 points. Mohandatt on the other hand, did not score as many points but his leadership and excellent ball handling skills were evident. He netted 10 points in his schools’ 25-22 victory against School of the Nations.
Although the point guard can score at will since he easily gets around his defenders using some lethal cross overs, it is his unselfishness that amazes spectators.
“Well first of all I’m really glad to play in this tournament again and looking to come out on top. As a team we are a bit rusty because we didn’t get a chance to train as much because of exams and then the rain but I think we can go a far way,” said the President’s College student.
“Personally I’m just going to play my natural game. I’m training with the junior national team right now so I’m fit and healthy so right now I’m just trying to get my team involved a bit more and the rest will fall into place,” he added.
However, Mohandatt says that he was looking forward to meeting Kanhai and the MHS team because of the competition which he knows the Linden school can bring.
Last year he only copped one individual award and that was for dishing out the most assists in the tournament.
His team placed fourth after losing to Kwakwani Secondary in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Kanhai believes that he is more than ready for the challenge and even stated that his team will take home the championship.
“I feel confident in coming into the tournament because we have been dominant in Linden so it is refreshing to have new competition. All of my teammates are really ready even though we didn’t have enough practice time because of rain and exams, but we are here now and ready.”
Since breaking onto the scene last year, a lot has been said and written about the 17-year-old MHS sixth form student and like a true star in the making he is ready to take on the responsibility of leading his team to championship honours again.“Well all I do is play my normal game, nothing fancy. I know my ability and what I can and cannot do and I know that I will deliver every game but at the same time get my team involved as much as possible. I have never really thought about playing against Richard or PC but like I said, I know my abilities and I think we can go all the way,” said the soft spoken point guard.
With the two players already indicating their intentions to take the under-19 ‘Big 10’ tournament by way of action, fans can be assured of a week filled with excitement and entertainment from the two players.
They were together on the last team that was scheduled to represent Guyana at the Inter-Guiana Games last year but due to some unrest in French Guiana it was cancelled. However, they have found themselves on the short-listed squad of players who will be doing honours later this year in Suriname.
Unlike Mohandatt, this is Kanhai’s third outing on the national side. As a 15 year-old, he was part of the team that won the basketball championship at the IGG when it was hosted here in 2006.
