With good local talent, Aruba is looking for a better level abroad

SAN NICOLÁS (Aruba) - The recently concluded 2019 edition of the Aruba Basketball Bond national tournament left a good impression on the National Federation President Valeska Milton. The executive was able to see at first hand the talent that the island has in the youth categories and identify the areas in which she must work for improvement.

The competition that extended from November of last year to the month of May was played at the YMCA of San Nicolás. There were about 200 children from the five main clubs on the island, Stealers, Dream Basketball, Aruba Juniors, Estrella Frico, and Impact. The teams had representation in three divisions and the categories U12, U14, U16, and U18.

"In terms of talent, I must say that the U16 division is a very strong one. The scores were all very close, it was a great final. The U18 was also good but the games were more open," said Milton.

The tournament for 19-, 20- and 21-year-old players will start in the month of September and will run until October.

Continuing with the good rhythm of its activities, Aruba successfully celebrated this weekend a friendly invitational 3x3 tournament called Intercontinental 3x3, for U18 and other categories.

In the tournament, the Aruba team collided with a team from the women's league of Curaçao, who took the championship in the division for over 18 years and the second place in the U18.

Milton also announced that Aruba made a U17 National Team with some of its best talents that will be traveling in August to the state of Texas where they will play some tournaments. This occurs as a result of the need to face higher level competition, a challenge that leads them to improve both their performance and general interest in sports.

"At any given time there is no more challenge for them [here]," Milton said. "So going abroad, in this case to Texas helps them measure how good they are and how much more they should work on their game. When they know they are going to travel, they take the game more seriously, especially to gain a spot on the team to be able to go on the trip."

FIBA