Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) President Nigel Hinds is confident that Guyana will be competitive at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) u16 Championships.
In an invited comment with Stabroek Sports, Hinds said “On the men’s side we have a good chance of making the final four and for the women, we will be competitive because they have been an absence of any developmental program coming through the schools system over the last 30 years to my knowledge. The females have been neglected in sports inclusive of Basketball” He indicated “Because of the work done by Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) in the schools over the last 10 years, they have been consistent championships and the general inclination of basketball and interest of Guyana in Basketball, in some ways the males tend to get more involved in sports on a voluntary basis without a push”.
Quizzed on Guyana’s main contenders for the title, he said “I would look at Jamaica and Bahamas those teams we think are the top of the rankings for the men. On the women side, we would look no further than Bahamas.
He noted while Bahamas is expected to be the clear favourite on the Women’s side, the standard of the other teams in the section is expected to be similar due to the fact the girls are not as exposed as their male counterparts despite the other nations having a more developed sports culture than Guyana.
“The standard will be very similar but the standout team is Bahamas, they have always been ahead of the pack”. The CBC u16 Championships will run from July 4th-16th and the top three teams will qualify for the 2017 CentroBasket U-17 Men and Women’s Championships.
The Youth Championship was last held in St John’s, Antigua in 2008, with Bahamas emerging the winner of both the Men’s and Women’s Championships. In the Men’s section, Zone-A will comprise of BVI, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda. Meanwhile, Zone-B will consist of Aruba, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Guyana. On the female side, Zone-A will feature Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, BVI and Guyana while Zone-B comprises Bahamas, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
