By Treiston Joseph
The Inter-Guiana Games basketball team is working their way through a rigorous training camp as they prepare to face hosts Suriname in a two-game tournament from October 17. Having the full use of the Cliff Anderson sports Hall, Chris Bowman indicated that the team is a young one that will have the opportunity to blossom, since only Leonard Primo will be returning to the squad from last year. Bowman, who runs a basketball club out of Marian Academy, is known for his systematic approach to playing basketball and spoke about the shelf life of the new IGG team.
“I think last year’s team ended a cycle. A new cycle is going to start now and the first year is really to get a feel of the competition and to get the exposure.
“They are going to be competitive nevertheless but we are beginning to rebuild a new team and can be competitive to win IGG if not this year in years to come,” Bowman told Guyana Times International Sport.
The squad which will feature mainly under-17 players will have to go up against a more senior Suriname team. Bowman believes the unit has the talent to do well despite their youth and inexperience. “They are well coached, Lugard (Mohan) has been the coach for some time now and it’s just for the youngsters to adjust, they have the talent but it will take them time to get to the point where we want them to be,” Bowman pointed out.
The IGG basketball team has come up short in recent years and has drawn their share of critics and comparison that Bowman believes is misguided and unfair.
