The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE draw has been set and the Bahamas Basketball Federation’s junior national teams now know the paths they will have to face if they wish to qualify further in regional competition.

The official draw for the Caribbean Basketball Confederation U16 Championships for Men and Women took place at the Cara Lodge Hotel in Georgetown, Guyana - the site of next month’s tournament.

Simultaneously, the local organising committee of the event also launched its official website: www.guyana2016.com

The CBC U16 Championship is scheduled to be held July 1-16 in Guyana, the first time the region has hosted the tournament since 2008.

The Bahamas is among a group of 10 teams for the boys’ championship. Group A includes the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and Dominica. Group B includes Aruba, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and the hosts Guyana.

In the girls’ tournament, the Bahamas will be in Group B alongside Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname. Group A includes Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the British Virgin Islands and Guyana.

The top three teams, both men and women, earn berths to the Centro Basket U17 Championship where they compete for spots in the FIBA Americas U18 Cup, from which they can qualify for the FIBA U19 World Cup or the Youth Olympics.

Each team will play all the other teams in its own group, a total of three games for each women’s team and four games for each men’s team.

A total of 12 games in the women’s championship and 20 games in the men’s championship will be played in the preliminary round.

The teams placed first and second in each group will qualify for the semi-finals, while teams placed third and fourth in each group will play in the classification round to determine fifth to eighth place. Teams finishing fifth in each group will play for ninth and 10th place.

The event website intends to detail current and complete information about the tournament which is a FIBA qualifying championship event in the Caribbean. With 26 days left until competition, the site will detail the latest information of all participating national teams, including their full rosters, exhibition game results and history of the teams and its players in international competitions, among other details.

Also, the official website will have all the details of the event, including information about the host city, travel advice, tickets, hotels for media and fans, media accreditation and all relevant information as it relates to the championship.

Throughout the championship, the website will provide full comprehensive coverage with news, live stats, leaders, game reports, photos, video highlights, exclusive interviews and live broadcast of all games.

The Bahamas has a rich history in the CBC Championship, particularly in the youth division. At the last CBC under-18 championships in 2008, hosted in Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas won both boys’ and girls’ titles.

The team was led by Donnathan Moss, Leon Cooper, Shavaro Bowleg and Jermaine Storr. They ultimately reached the FIBA Tournament of Americas before they were eliminated.

The Bahamas’ last junior national team was the 2015 squad which finished fifth at the FIBA Centrobasket under-17 Championship in Puerto Rico.

The Bahamas finished with a 3-2 win-loss record overall, but won only one game in group play before they were relegated to the lower bracket.

It marked the second consecutive time a Bahamian under-17 team had finished fifth at Centrobasket, after the 2013 tournament in El Salvador. The Bahamas last qualified for the Tournament of the Americas at the junior level in 2013. At the Centrobasket under-15 Championships in El Salvador, the Bahamas finished third with a bronze medal win over Puerto Rico.