SAN JUAN (Puerto Rico) - Overcoming a Dominican team that was unbeaten in the 2017 edition of the Centrobasket U17 Championship, the Bahamas men's team conquered their first bronze medal at this level thanks in part to the great work done by their coaches at a national level.

The triumph qualified the Caribbean team for the first time to the upcoming FIBA Americas U18 Championship in 2020. This is the result of the joint work — for more than a decade — of the Bahamas Basketball Federation and their entire support staff, including national coaches and individual trainers. Quentin Hall, the team’s coach, talked to FIBA.basketball.

“It's very beautiful when everything comes together. When something like this happens, it isn't possible without all the work, all the commitment of a lot of coaches that I've been around and have been a part of this process. I don't want to leave them out, because this has been a struggle,” said Hall after the game.

This achievement is one of the most important in Mr. Mario Bowleg's CV, who was elected President of Bahamas Basketball in April. Hall says he's very thankful.

One of the many good news for the Bahamians was the performance of starting point guard Deyton Albury. Entirely developed in Nassau, Bahamas, the 17-year-old player concluded the tournament with a 19.4 contribution (fifth among all active players in the tournament), 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game.

“The most amazing thing is that this kid is learning along the way,” said Hall. “This is their first year playing for the national team. He's in good condition, he’s very educated and he listens. When you have those qualities, I believe that the sky is the limit. These young players wish to play for the Bahamas, and that's the most important thing in this period before next year’s Americas Championship.”

According to the directive, the program’s success is a clear message to boys and girls in the Bahamas about the potential that the country and its people have in developing competitive programs not only in the Caribbean but in the entire American continent.

“Totally. We have great coaches in the Bahamas,” Hall emphasized. “We have many people that are in basketball to try to help individuals to practice. When something like this happens you only see us, but there are many coaches in this country doing a lot of work and we should be thankful when we have successes like these.

We have a lot of work ahead of us and that means that we must start right away,” Hall concluded.

FIBA