After two gruelling days of basketball in the International Basketball Federation’s 3×3 Under-18 basketball tournament, Guyana came second best on Sunday as the competition was hosted in St Lucia.
Guyana had won their two games on the opening night and required at least two more wins to secure their semi-final berth.
The local boys did so by winning their three matches in the first stage before advancing to the semis.
In the first match of the day, the Guyanese team disposed of Antigua and Barbuda, who proved to be one of the most high-profile games of the competition, 7-9 before going on to face St Vincent who were also beaten as Guyana won 4-12.
In their final contest of the group stages, Guyana trounced Aruba by a 4-12 margin and earned a spot in the semis undefeated and booked to face Guadelope, who they dismantled 9-12 to set their final showdown with Martinque.
The Guyanese contingent with their silver medals along with FIBA President Horacio Muratore
However, the dream-run for the local basketball stars ended in an anti-climax with Guyana marginally missing out on what would have been a spectacular display of skills and flair, unfortunately Martinque won the title having squeezed a thin 9-8 victory over the Guyanese.
Nevertheless, Guyana had been represented well and showed a fighting resilience with a player going on one leg.
Stanton Rose was the highlight of the tournament, outscoring the other players in the overall competition, but missed out on the Most Valuable Player Award.
Timothy Thompson was the leading dunker and in top four list of rebounders in the overall tournament.
The President of FIBA, Horacio Muratore, who presented the Silver Medals to Guyana Team, Congratulated Guyana for Giving FIBA such an heroic and memorial 3×3 Under-18 Finals in the Caribbean.
Special thanks were extended to Dennis Clarke; the Guyana Basketball Amateur Federation; Colts Basketball Club; Citizenship Ministry (Minister Winston Felix); Guyana Passport Office; Guyana Police Service (Acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine); Youth Basketball Guyana; National Sports Commission; Director of Sport Christopher Jones; Patrick and Paul Haynes; Shania Wilson; Leona Kyte and Selena Arjune; as well as all the schools that participated in the Guyana Qualifiers (Bishops’ High, St John’s College, Tutorial High School, Berbice Multilateral High School, Plaisance Secondary, North Georgetown Secondary, Christ Church Secondary School and Kwakwani Secondary).
