After a disappointing performance in El Salvador, Cayman basketball will look to reassess its future.
The national Under-15 boys basketball team went 0-5 at the CentroBasket Championships in San Salvador, finishing eighth out of eight countries. For Cayman Islands Basketball Association President Joel Jefferson, the hope is that the squad recovers soon.
“It hurts and I’m sure it’s going to be painful for the first couple of days,” Jefferson said. “Getting throttled like that is not fun. That happened to me when I was a junior.
“After awhile they’ll start to reflect on it and see where they can improve their game and that’s going to make all the difference. I’m pretty sure they’re going to bounce back pretty well after a few months.”
Jefferson would see Cayman lose by extremely large margins in San Salavador. The defeats came to Mexico (127-27), El Salvador (108-18) and the Bahamas (105-26) in group play. The boys then lost to Costa Rica 73-21 and Barbados 64-49.
The top four teams, namely the Mexicans, Puerto Rico, Guatemala and the Bahamians, earned berths to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) America Championships, which leads up to the FIBA World Championships.
Technical director for Cayman Basketball Victor ‘Voot’ O’Garro previously stated that from here focus will shift to junior academies and Cayman’s major youth competition.
“We are already headed in the way of Argentina with full-time academies,” O’Garro said. “We have the primary/U12, U14, U16 and U19 leagues along with the senior leagues. It’s one of our chief initiatives.
“From here, the Cayman basketball academy resumes on 22 September. The academy currently attracts over 50 kids to the First Baptist Church. After that, the U19 league starts back in October.”
Cayman were represented at CentroBasket by 12 young men in Daniel Britton, Michael Brooks, Michael Dawes, Juawon Ebanks, Joshua Ebanks-Brown, Franz Manderson Jr, Jahmoll Miller, Javon Seymour, Norman Solomon, vice-captain Arin Taylor, Alexander Thompson and captain Jamel Winton. Ebanks and Taylor, both age 14, were the top performers.
Ebanks led the team in scoring, averaging 7.8 points per game, while ranking fifth in the tournament in three-point shooting percentage at 33 per cent. Taylor was the team’s second-best scorer with 5.0ppg and the top free throw shooter with a 87.5 per cent free throw percentage.
Guiding the boys were head coach Duran ‘Trinni’ Whittaker, assistant coach Erwin ‘Bong’ Blancaflor and team manager Angela O’Garro. The squad was accompanied by head local referee Gregory Hamilton and parents like Taylor’s mum Paulette Conolly-Bailey.
Some of the parents have been optimistic about the boys’ future with Conolly-Bailey focusing on the hospitality received abroad.
“Even though the results were not what we expected or hoped for, the kids played their hearts out to represent Cayman,” Conolly-Bailey said. “Of particular note, we also want to say thanks to hosts El Salvador, who bent over backwards to be kind and hospitable to our contingent and make the trip a safe and enjoyable one.
“Both players and parents will not forget the experience.”
The young men were hoping to emulate the national girls U15 team. That squad competed at CentroBasket in Mexico City, Mexico with the likes of Chloe Powery propelling Cayman to a fifth place finish and fresh kudos as the top youth side in the Caribbean.
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