Basketball turmoil over two tournaments

Last year Bermuda’s national basketball team lifted the gold medal at the Island Games.

While that was happening a Bermuda Select team was getting mauled in the Caribbean Basketball Championships.

Next year the roles will be reversed with the National team playing in the Caribbean Championships — and that has enraged some team members who want to defend their Island Games title.

Allen Walker, Bermuda Basketball Association president, said Bermuda will still send a team to the Island Games Tournament, but the priority for the national team will be the Caribbean Basketball Championship.

This week pro star Sullivan Phillips told Islandstats.com he was “disgusted’ the national team wasn’t going to be able to defend the gold medal.

Walker said: "We are planning to send a team to both the 2011 Island Games and Caribbean Basketball Championships (CBC).”

He added: “The Caribbean Basketball Championship is the more prestigious tournament and it carries more weight.”

In keeping with the association's plan, Walker proposed the Island Games be used solely for development purposes with greater emphasis placed instead on the CBC, which is also an Olympic qualifier recognized by the sport's world governing body (FIBA). Last year the men’s team won the gold medal in Aland with a team spearheaded by Phillips.

However, while BBA president Walker says his association intend to send a team to next year's Island Games, Former Bermuda coach Roderick Spencer remains unconvinced local basketball's governing body actually intend on doing so.

He said: "Speaking to them (BBA) they say they are going to attempt to do the Island Games and the CBC tournament, which is their preferred tournament these days. If we were taking a team (to Island Games) then by now we would've started the preliminary process of coaching selection, trying out younger players and just getting a feel for the talent that is out there. But none of that has started."

He said the Island Games team will have to raise its own funds to participate in the tournament and he doubts that the money will be raised to send a select team to the Isle of Wight.

The BBA have until next February to submit their Island Games team roster.

Spencer added: "To my understanding the BBA haven't really come out and officially announced anything. But based on the conversations they have had with Jon Beard and the Bermuda Island Games Association they don't plan on sending a team next year."

Spencer said it would be a shame if Bermuda's hoopsters were denied the opportunity to defend the Island Games crown. "No team has ever won the Island Games twice and we are quite poised to do that with pretty much the same team," he added. "If anything else we should have an even stronger team next year because some people will be available who were not available to us last year."