The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

WITH just over 80 days to go before the region’s best basketball teams square off in the elite FIBA qualifying event for Caribbean countries, the organisers are beginning to galvanise support through the Internet.

The Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) launched the official website of the 2014 CBC Championship, www.bvi2014.com earlier this week.

The CBC Championship is scheduled to b held July 1- 5 (Men) and July 8-12 (Women) in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Men’s teams will include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Guyana, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Virgin Islands and the host, British Virgin Islands.

The Bahamas hosted the CBC Championships at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium in 2011.

Women’s teams will include the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Virgin Islands fighting for three spots in the 2014 Centrobasket Championship for Men and Women in Mexico.

The Bahamas was the host of the latest edition of the CBC in 2011, the first time the country hosted international FIBA basketball in over a decade.

The Virgin Islands won the championship for men and Cuba won the championship for women. Both teams qualified for the 2012 Centrobasket Championship in Puerto Rico.

It will be the first opportunity for the Bahamas Basketball Federation to see its revamped national team programme led by a new coaching staff, from the NCAA Division I ranks.

With Larry Eustachy leading the men’s teams and Grand Bahama native Yolett McPhee-McCuin leading the women, the BBF’s intention was to bring greater focus and organisation in the sport for the country on the international stage.

Eustachy, a veteran mentor with more than 30 seasons of coaching experience, including 21 as a head coach, recently completed his second season with the Colorado State University Rams.

This fall, he will welcome his first Bahamian recruit to the Rams programme, Nathan Bain, from the Sunrise Christian Academy and formerly of the Tabernacle Baptist Falcons.

McPhee-McCuin, current head coach of the Jacksonville University Dolphins, said the ultimate goal of the women’s programme is to qualify for the Olympics, but that journey begins this year with a successful performance at the Caribbean Basketball Championships.

McPhee-McCuin has been a trailblazer for aspiring females from the Bahamas, becoming the first Bahamian female to sign a letter of intent to a Division I school, and is the first to coach at a Division I programme. She also led the Bahamas’ under-18 junior national team to a silver medal at the FIBA National Games in international competition as a player.

The site intends to detail current and complete information about the tournament which is a FIBA qualifying championship event in the Caribbean.

The website has 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 - Tortola, 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 www.bvi2014.com will provide full comprehensive coverage with news, live stats, leaders, game reports, photos, video highlights, exclusive interviews, and live broadcast of all games.