The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Basketball Federation looks to field another qualifying junior national team at the Centrobasket level.

The federation unveiled the men’s under-17 Centrobasket team set to compete in the tournament August 14-18 in Gurabo, Puerto Rico.

The Bahamas is in Group B along with the United States Virgin Islands, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico. Group A includes the Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands, El Salvador and Mexico. Three teams from the Centrobasket U-17 will qualify for the 2014 FIBA Americas U-18 Championship.

The team will be coached by Kevin Johnson, assisted by a coaching staff which also includes Mark Hanna, Francis Delva and Darell Sears.

“This team is a special team where we have a good group of disciplined young men. I’ve been a part of two previous teams and I’ve never had the opportunity to beat Puerto Rico. But this year, the ultimate goal is to beat Puerto Rico and to bring a gold back to the Bahamas.

“In the past I think our teams never had enough time to practice and to prepare, but this year we had at least three solid months to practice and get a good system in,” Hanna said. “We travelled to AAU last week and won a gold medal in Tampa. Of course these guys are young but they have a lot of experience under their belt. Team chemistry is flowing right now, they like each other, spend a lot of time together. It’s a good group of guys and definitely I feel like they will qualify for the next level.”

The team includes eight players from New Providence and another four from Grand Bahama. “It’s an honour to be a part of the BBF and specifically a part of this programme which I’ve been involved in for eight years. I’ve seen a lot of progress and development and the thing that I’ve seen with this year’s team versus the ones we have had in the past is that this is a more balanced team,” the Grand Bahama-based Sears said.

“In years past teams the Spanish teams would drop back and sit in the zone and dare the Bahamas to shoot. I don’t think that that is something they probably want to do with this team. With what I’ve seen from Grand Bahama and the coaching staff in Nassau has done such an excellent job. I’m very anxious to see what we do when we get to Puerto Rico.”

Said Delva, a newcomer to the national team coaching ranks: “This is my first time being a part of the BBF, but I have kept up with numerous teams and followed teams and this is one of the most prepared teams that we have put together in a while,” he said. “This is a well-structured, well shooting team. From what I have seen the past few months, I think we are prepared to do great things in the region. It’s a three-year commitment and we look forward to making the Bahamas proud.”

BBF president Charles Robbins called the team “the future of basketball in the Bahamas.”

Team co-captains Calvin Anderson and Sebastian Gray expressed their optimism on the team’s performance in Puerto Rico.

“I feel we have a lot of talent. Over the past few months of playing together and spending time together, I feel like we have good chemistry. We have a good chance as long as we do our jobs. The talent is there, we are in shape, we just have to go over there and do our thing,” said Anderson.

Gray, who was also a key member of recent under-15 and under-16 national teams, said this squad has a chance to exceed recent accomplishments.

“I think our team is better than last year. We’re in better shape, we’re faster, we share the ball as a team and we’re a better shooting team. In the international game it’s more physical so we just have to be focused and prepared going into this,” he said.

Centrobasket is a FIBA-sponsored basketball tournament where national teams from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean participate.

The top three or four teams typically earn berths to the FIBA Americas Championship, from which they can qualify for the FIBA World Championship or Olympics.

Teams qualify for these tournaments by finishing high (usually first or second place) in the previous Centrobasket or by placing high at the FIBA COCABA Championship for Mexico and the seven Central American countries and at the FIBA CBC Championship for the 24 Caribbean countries.

In total, 32 countries have an opportunity to qualify their national teams for the Centrobasket.

Centrobasket

Under-17 Team Roster

Oatman Lightbourne

D’Varj Smith

Rashad Davis

Shakwon Lewis

Onan Roberts

Rashasd Russell

Calvin Anderson

Sebastian Gray

Dontae Thompson

Charles Bain

Qyemeh Gibson

Jordan Wilson