Mexico, Guyana draw first blood as ‘One Guyana’ 3×3 Quest begins

The Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) was blanketed in a kaleidoscope of colours on Saturday morning as teams from across the world and an ensuing cultural presentation livened the Homestretch Avenue venue when the ‘One Guyana’ 3×3 Quest was officially opened.

The FIBA-sanctioned event is the first of its kind to be hosted in the English- speaking Caribbean, and teams from as far as Europe have been attracted.
During the aforementioned opening ceremony on Saturday morning, Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr., speaking to the magnitude of the event, justified the Government’s investment in the host facility.

“The pieces started coming together more than 3 years ago. We didn’t know that we would be able to host the first 3×3 tournament in the English-speaking Caribbean, or the only one that’s being hosted outside of Miami or Puerto Rico. We didn’t know that we would be able to do that, but we built with that intention. And many times, when you’re building, you have to have the courage to make that decision and then back those decisions up,” Guyana’s Sport Minister articulated.

On-court action has seen Mexico’s ‘Ball so hard’ team picking up the first win of the tournament – defeating Guyana’s Untouchables 20-9 in the Pool A clash. Mexico’s Yannick Espinosa, recapping their performance, shared their goals for the remainder of the weekend’s competition. “Everything at this level – which is an international quest – is high level. First of all, I want to thank the organization for inviting us. We come all the way down from Mexico to here to participate, and we’re looking for the same thing everyone is looking for: the qualifying to the next stage of the World Tour in Edmonton,” Espinosa shared.

He added, “It was a good game. The Guyana team, they’re pretty tough, strong, they’re athletic. Basically, that’s our challenge: beat them on the athleticism and on the strategic point of view. Like I said, we’re super excited,” he said.
“We coming to win everything! We know the first two of each group qualifies to the next round of the quarterfinals, and that’s going to be like do-or-die basically. We’re prepared, we’re ready for it, and we really love to be out here in the competition,” Espinosa shared about his team’s intentions.

On the other hand, Guyana’s Renegades were the next team to join the winners’ circle, thumping Bermuda’s Hamilton 20-10 in a Pool B matchup.
Guyanese national player Travis Belgrave later described the encounter as intense as he also addressed the home court advantage.
“It was a bit intense. It was a bit physical, as per normal, but we’re experienced in this kind of 3×3 play; so, I think we adapted quite well, and we’re very grateful for this victory,” Belgrave told this publication.
“Well, the experience plays a major part in 3×3. It’s fast-paced, but it requires a lot of thinking; so, based on our experience, I think we should go a far way,” Belgrave later shared about the Renegades’ experience on the 3×3 circuit.
The Guyanese national player went on to say about their home advantage, “Definitely! We’re home, we’re accustomed to these conditions, so I think we will do well.”
In other results on Saturday, Cayman Storm of the Cayman Islands suffered a 15-21 loss at the hands of Suriname’s Team Paramaribo.
An overtime contest resulted in St. Kitts and Nevis’s SKN Sugar Boys walking away with the win over BVI Elites 13-11 St. Lucia’s Elite Blazers downed Trinidad and Tobago’s Quarters United 19-15, Guyana’s Georgetown got past Guatemala’s PSN 13-8, and USA’s NY Soundview got the better of the Netherlands’ Team Philipsburg 21-8.
The ‘One Guyana’ 3×3 Quest continues this Sunday morning and the anticipated final is scheduled for 18:30hrs this evening.