Guyana goes down to Suriname in Nations Cup Opener

Guyana’s National Basketball team suffered a crushing 28-point loss to hosts Suriname on Friday evening when the Nations Cup tri- nation tournament bounced off at the Ismay Van Willgen Sporthal (Sports Hall) in Paramaribo, Suriname.
The visitors, Guyana, enjoyed a slim lead in the first half putting up 17 points as compared to Suriname’s 12.

However, Suriname made a comeback in the second quarter, netting 16 points to get up to 28. Suriname’s defense worked simultaneously, restricting Guyana to 8 points, allowing the hosts a 3- point lead at the end of the quarter (28-25).
The third quarter was an explosive one for the hosts as they piled on a whopping 29 points. Guyana continued to struggle offensively, managing only 14 points in the segment. As such, Suriname were already 18 points ahead of their visitors, with the third ending 57-39.
The script was the same in the final quarter as the hosts accumulated another 27. The Guyanese, on the other hand, put up 17 points in that quarter, as the encounter ended 84-56 in Suriname’s favour.
Travis Belgrave was the standout player on the Guyanese side, netting 16 points while his teammate, Nikkoloi Smith was the next best scorer, accumulating 10 points.
Guyana will look to change their fortunes today as they take on Grenada in a must- win game at the same venue from 10:0hrs. Meanwhile, the Nations Cup tournament continued on Saturday night with Suriname and Grenada meeting at the Ismay Van Willgen venue at 21:00hrs.
The Guyanese Basketball team in Suriname reads: Stanton Rose (KK Untouchables), Domair Gladstone, (KK Untouchables), Orlan Glasgow (Royals), Harold Adams (Royals), Travis Belgrave (Eagles), Zian Gray (Eagles), Nikkoloi Smith (Ravens), Denzil Ross (Eagles), Shane Webster (Colts), Jermaine Slater (Kobras), Oquacey Shortt (Colts) and Kimol Grimmond (KK Untouchables).