The Tribune

AFTER winning the Caribbean Basketball Championship under-16 boys’ title last year, Quinton ‘Three Ounce’ Hall is hoping that the Bahamas men’s national basketball team will duplicate the feat at the CentroBasket Under-17 Tournament.

The team is in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where they will play their first game out of Group A 1pm today against Guyana, whom the Bahamas defeated 84-57 last year to clinch the CBC title in Georgetown, Guyana.

“The guys are pretty excited and happy. They get a chance now to play against someone other than themselves,” Hall said. “So that’s a good thing for them.

“We know that Guyana has some new players so that brings a lot of suspense. We know they have been watching us, having an idea of who our key players are, but we have been watching them. So you never know what will happen until we play the game.”

On Thursday, the Bahamas will also play Mexico at 1pm before they take on Puerto Rico at 5pm Friday. The playoffs will be played on Saturday and the final on Sunday.

Returning players are Dominic Bridgewater, a 5-foot, 10-inch point guard from Anatol Rodgers who won the most valuable player award last year, Samuel Hunter, a 6-8 power forward and Detarrio Thompson, a 5-10 guard, both attending British Columbia Christian in Colombia, Canada.

Other members of the team are Grevaughn Goodman, a 6-0 guard from Homestead Senior High in Miami, Florida, O’Brien Pearce, a 5-9 point guard from Texas Christian High School in Houston, Texas, Rashad Green, a 6-3 small forward from St Louis Christian Academy in St Louis, Missouri, Joshua Dames, a 6-3 guard from Tabernacle Baptist Academy, Derryn Johnson, a 6-6 small forward from St Anne’s College, Kai Jones, a 6-7 small forward home schooled, Davano Whitfield, a 6-4 small forward from Anatol Rodgers and Leroy Adderley, a 6-8 power forward from Calvary Christian School in Columbus, Georgia.

There are also two reserves travelling with the team for the exposure. They are 6-3 shooting guard Janus Shephard from Central Eleuthera High and 6-7 power forward Deangelo Elisee from CR Walker.

“We have spent a lot of time in practice, so we know that when it all comes together, we will be ok,” said Hall, who will be assisted by coaches Wayde Adderley and Nigel Ingaham. “We have seen some production already in Kai Jones, along with Grevaughn Goodman, O’Brien Pearce, Joshua Dames, McKell Bethell, so we’re looking to see what new they bring to the table.

“Leroy Adderley is also a new guy who plays inside and is super athletic. So we are just waiting to see how they play their first game together.”

Hall said the management team, inclusive of Stephen Brown, head of the delegation and team manager Anton Francis, are making sure that the team is comfortable and their medical staff, comprising of team doctor Dereck Pinder and trainer Dereck Cummings, is getting the players fit to play. “We’re ready to play ball,” Hall said. “The guys are all eager and enthusiastic. They are having fun with each other. It’s more than playing basketball. It’s about getting an experience that they will never forget as they get older.”