Trinidad and Tobago take a step up in the basketball world
By Albert Lee Young (sportingo.com)
At the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) AGM held in the British Virgin Islands, it was announced that the number of teams competing at the 2010 Centrobasket Men’s Championships would be increased from eight to ten.
This was welcomed news for the president of the National Basketball Federation of Trinidad & Tobago, Mr. Brian Manning who was in attendance at the meeting.
Trinidad & Tobago was one of the two national teams added to the competition. Qualification was based on their fourth-place finish at the 2009 CBC Championships held in Tortola, BVI. The other national team was Belize from the CONCOBA region.
It is almost 20 years since a Trinidad & Tobago men’s basketball team participated at the Centrobasket Championships. And this year both the men’s and women’s teams will play at the championships.
In the absence of the pre-qualifying 2009 Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Women's Championship, the top eight teams in the 2008 tournament were selected to compete in 2010. Trinidad & Tobago’s women’s team gained an automatic spot having secured a fifth-place finish in 2008.
Brian Manning, youngest ever president of the T & T Federation, is very excited and optimistic about his country’s participation at this year’s tournament, which is tentatively scheduled to be held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from July 5-11.
The men’s tournament qualifies the top four teams for the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship (Pre-Olympics), the top eight for the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC) in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, and the top three for the 2011 Pan American Games scheduled for Guadalajara, Mexico.
In addition, the T&T’s women’s basketball team have secured a spot for the 2010 CAC Games.
Taking part in these tournaments is a major achievement for Trinidad & Tobago and the Federation is optimistic about its teams’ prospects of securing a qualifying spot given their performances at the previous tournaments.
It is also felt that the tournaments will inspire young players and provide an important catalyst for the enhancement of the sport in this twin-island republic in the southern Caribbean.
