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Charlotte Amalie
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HomeNewsArchivesJunior Hoopsters Compete in Antigua

Junior Hoopsters Compete in Antigua

Aug. 12, 2008 — The best male and female junior basketball players in the territory will be in Antigua over the next six days, competing in this year's V.I. Caribbean Junior Basketball Championships for the right to move on to the 2009 Central America and Caribbean Juniors Basketball Championships.
The V.I. girls team, coached by Donald Bough, will be facing teams from Antigua and Barbuda, and the Bahamas. Bough, though only in his first year as the girls' coach, has years of experience on the boys' side, and said he is confident in his team going into the tournament.
"A lot of the girls are first-time competitors, and a lot of them are young — we only have two 16 year olds," Bough said from Antigua on Monday. "But even though we're inexperienced, I think I've gotten the team to the best point I could considering the time and the resources, and I'm confident in what they can do."
The V.I. girls team gets an automatic berth in next year's event since there are only three teams on their side of the tournament. This also automatically puts them in contention for either a gold, silver or bronze medal, Bough said.
The V.I. team plays its first game against Antigua and Barbuda Tuesday evening, followed by games against the Bahamas on Wednesday and Thursday. They will close out the tournament on Friday against Antigua and Barbuda.
The boys' side of the tournament is five teams deep, with the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, the Netherlands Antilles and the Bahamas rounding out the group. Only the top three teams will move on to the 2009 basketball tournament, said men's coach Jareem Dowling.
"We've been training for a month and a half," Dowling said. "This is my second year coaching, and this year, the team has more firepower and a better understanding of the game. These guys — except for one — are a bunch of first-timers, but they are all eager and hungry to learn."
Expanding on the idea of his team being hungry for the gold, Dowling explained his "butter bread" theory.
"In thinking about my strategy for the tournament, I had to come up with something that they could understand," he said. "I asked the team if they knew what butter bread is — when they raised their hands, I asked them if anyone of them could eat a butter bread in one bite. No one raised their hand. So that's how we're going to do it — going into the tournament one game at a time, one piece at a time."
He also told his team that no "bling" is more important than winning a medal during this year's competition.
"It's priceless," he said. "But I think we can do it. I love my team — I think I have the best 12 guys representing the Virgin Islands."
The V.I. boys team plays its first game on Tuesday against the Bahamas, followed by Antigua and Barbuda on Wednesday, the Netherlands Antilles on Thursday and the BVI on Friday.
Championship games will be held on Sunday.

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