The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

International Basketball Academy Bahamas is using the Easter Holiday break to showcase student athletes in their first “Set It Off” Tournament.

Hosted at the Anatol Rodgers Gymnasium, the week long event which began on August 9th and runs through the 17th, features hundreds of players from clubs throughout New Providence ranging from the 10U-20U categories.

Originally intended to be an early season event to prepare teams for the 2022 season, the pandemic forced the club to reschedule.

IBA Director and head coach of the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins Denycko Bowles said players need as many opportunities as possible for organised play with another year in the school system lost to COVID.

“This tournament is the first of its kind for us,” he said. “We had to delay from January but we saw fit to stay with it and get this tournament off the ground. We normally travel as a club during Easter but at this particular time we thought a local tournament would be best because a lot of the kids don’t have an opportunity to play basketball on a regular basis so we wanted to put on something good for the kids to make sure they continue with their development, not only individually but as teams.

“These games are very very important for our kids. We have a lot of seniors who have not played organised ball in about two years. They are lacking reps, lacking the footage needed to get them prepared for the next level so anything of this nature is beneficial for our young student athletes.”

Divisions featured include 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U and 20U.

The tournament also serves as a follow up to the programme’s Grassroots Youth Development League which recently wrapped up its inaugural spring edition last month.

“The competition has been very good thus far. Kids that have participated in tournaments the past few months with their respective clubs have looked pretty good,” Bowles said. “I can see those games have helped them improve from where they were, pre-COVID. I can speak to quite a few programmes like mine that have been working around the clock just to showcase their talent and to allow them to benefit from it.”

Championship day will be hosted on the 16th and the the tournament will conclude on the 17th with an All-Star afternoon featuring divisional All-Star games, a slam dunk and Three-Point Contest.

“The All-Star day is really a time for family, friends and teammates to mesh, bond, gel, have fun, come together as one and celebrate something we all love, and that’s the sport of basketball,” Bowles said.

General admission daily is $5 for adults and $3 for children.