Bahamas In Group D For Fiba World Cup 2019 – Bahamas Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

With the change in format for the FIBA Basketball World Cup to a home-and-away series, the Bahamas Basketball Federation finds itself stacked in Group D of the 2019 Americas Qualifier.

The Bahamas is one of the 12 teams that competed at FIBA AmeriCup 2017 and the 6-7th placed teams from CentroBasket 2016 and the South American Championships 2016. The others include Cuba, Chile and Paraguay, who will make up the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers.

Heading into the draw, they had already told us that geographically, we would be placed in a pool with either Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada, Dominican Republic, the United States and the US Virgin Islands, said Mario Bowleg, first vice president of the BBF.

We knew that those eight teams will be placed in one box and then they will be divided into two pools.

The other eight teams would be placed in the other box and they will be placed in two pools based on their geographic location because they want you to be able to fly closer to your home and away games.

Team Draw

At the official draw ceremony, conducted on Sunday at the Canton Tower in Guangzhou, China, the Bahamas has been placed in Group D with the US Virgin Islands, Canada and the Dominican Republic.

Group C will comprise of Mexico, Puerto Rico, United States and Cuba. Group A will comprise of Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Panama. Group B will include Venezuela, Chile and Colombia.

The top seven teams will advance to China 2019.

The draw is a great draw for us, Bowleg said. We were hoping that we would have drawn with the United States because of our close proximity and it would have been a great experience for us in the home-and-away series.

However, the draw didnt go that way and we are glad for various reasons. We now have teams like Canada, the Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands, whom we feel we can do very well against.

The Bahamas is scheduled to travel to Canada to play their opening game on the road on Friday, November 24. Their first home game will follow on Monday, November 27 against the US Virgin Islands.

Then on Thursday, February 22, the Bahamas will host the Dominican Republic and Canada on Sunday, February 25. Their final two games will be on the road on Friday, June 29 in the US Virgin Islands and Monday, July 2 in the Dominican Republic.

Team Bahamas

In preparation for the series of games, Bowleg said the federation intent to assemble at least two teams comprising of international and local players, whom they hope to play when the Summer of Thunder Basketball Tournament is staged here.

Our players have made it known that they are available because the NBA clubs and those leagues around the world have already been advised by FIFA that they will have to stop so they can release their players to play for their respective countries, Bowleg said.

So when you talk bout players like Magnum Rolle, Kadeem Coleby and Torrington Cox, just to name a few, are anxious to come home to compete for the Bahamas. Ive started the preparation with the communication of these players.

From the teams they hope to assemble, Bowleg said they would select the national team, based on the players who will be available to represent the country.

While all of the players will practice together, they will be divided and the coaching staff will monitor their progress in an effort to cut the team down to the final 12 to represent the Bahamas, Bowleg said.

We will also have another team that we will use as a practice team and out of that, we will select players who will be able to fit in whenever a player who was selected to the original team wont be able to play for some reason or the other.

Coaching Staff

The mens national team is currently being coached by Bowleg, assisted by Kevin KJ Johnson, Norris Bain from Grand Bahama and Wayde Watson.

However, Bowleg said there could be some changes made in the next few days.

Norris Bain is running in the (general) elections (today), so depending on the outcome whether he will still be on board, Bowleg said. My intention was to step down because of the amount of work that has to go into ensuring that the Bahamas is strategically prepared for the upcoming games that we have to play.

Theres so much work that has to go on to prepare for this new format with the home and away games. So my focus was more on that. But the president (Charlie Softly Robins) has advised me that we will get some assistance, so he wants me to remain on until thats done.

In the meantime, Bowleg said they have a coaching staff that is capable to putting the team together and getting ready for the first leg of the home and away series in November.

Go here to read the rest:

Bahamas In Group D For Fiba World Cup 2019 - Bahamas Tribune