NSBF laying the foundation for Basketball in Guyana
Since its introduction in 2004, the National Schools Basketball Festival (NSBF) which is the product of Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) has developed and expanded to the point where it is now seen as the foundation of the sport in Guyana. There are now competitions in at least three different categories (U-14, U-19 and Females) during the NSBF season.
In an interview with Guyana Times Sports, YBG Director, Chris Bowman pointed out that if one were to remove the last 12 years of the NSBF there’d be a huge gap in the development and nurturing of the sport in Guyana.
Action in the National Schools Basketball Festival
He contended that in recent years all of the country’s National teams are usually “loaded with players who come from the National Schools Basketball Festival.”
In addition Bowman stressed the importance of Schools’ involvement and support for their respective teams as he pointed out that “too often are the bleachers empty”, the absence of school support for these teams is an issue that needs to be rectified.
In terms of investment, Bowman noted that while sometimes it is heavy, there are returns as the continued development of players at the youth level is invaluable. More so at the U-16, U-17 level with the U-16 team taking Silver at last year’s Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) championships falling just short behind the Bahamas. The CBC saw the emergence of brilliant young players especially the U-16 captain Jordon Alphonso and Kevon Wiggins.
The majority of that U-16 squad will form the core of the U-17 squad that will travel to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic in July to participate in the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Centrobasket U-17 Championships. This is the first time in Guyana’s history that the Basketball team has qualified for the tournament.
While adequate sponsorship for the tournament has not always been there, Bowman expressed gratitude that there is still a tournament and expressed confidence that the NSBF will continue to churn out outstanding young male and female basketball players who will ultimately represent Guyana at the various levels of the sport.
