Yesterday at the Cliff Andersons Sports Hall (CASH) on Carifesta Avenue, the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) held their final press conference ahead of the senior men’s team departure for El Salvador tomorrow, where the team will create history by competing in their first ever FIBA World Cup (2023) pre-qualifiers.
Present at the presser were Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., and head of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), K.A. Juman-Yassin.
Ramson, during his remarks to the National men’s team, charged them to find the required chemistry to be successful in order to inspire others.
He noted that, “You (the team) have a heavy burden to carry because you are inspiring an entire generation of Guyanese people, so while you are playing and you want successful individual performances and while this is an opportunity for you, I want you to be mindful that your actions, your commitment, your dedication, has a very reverberating effect all across this country”.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 – CONCECABA Pre-Qualifiers will get underway on April 15 in the city of San Salvador and the top three teams from the five-member group will advance to the second round qualifiers.
Guyana will be pitted against Costa Rica, El Salvador, Jamaica and Nicaragua in the group that will be contested solely in one-off round-robin games.
The Minister added, “The Government of Guyana is happy to support your effort but one of the ways you can inspire people is by being successful. We want you to understand that you are here to win.”
The Minister reemphasised the need for Corporate Guyana to be on board the development of sport, divulging that, “The development of a country is a team sport and development is not only building your company or a building but it is building people and building the talent coming from sport, it’s an important way we develop our human capita.”
GOA long-serving boss, K.A. Juman-Yassin, who has indicated to Kaieteur Sport that he will be running for office at the upcoming elections, said the Association was happy to assist and also called on more support from corporate Guyana private sector to follow suit.
Some of the cheerful givers from the private sector included: W. Rambaran Services, Biddle Inc. S.A.C, Atlantic Marine Services under their Parker Brand, Fit It Electrical and Rambarran Contracting, E-Networks, JHI Associates and Western Union.
The team and officials are expected to undergo a second round of PCR Tests for COVID-19 today before departing tomorrow.
