POSTED BY: Eurobasket News
They might be heading home after two short games, but according to Head Coach Clyde Glinton, he definitely thinks they will be back.
The 25th edition of the Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic made history this year with the presence of a team from the Turks and Caicos Islands. It represented the first time in the tournament's 25-year existence that an international team played in the tourney. Whilst Glinton said that they had a terrific time, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, it was a bittersweet trip for them as they lost both of their games at the Kendal G L Isaacs National Gymnasium.
The Turks and Caicos Islands fell to the Alpha/Omega Owls out of Freeport, Grand Bahama, 62-48, in their first game of the tournament on Wednesday, and then dropped a hurtful 39-34 decision to the SC Bootle Dolphins out of Abaco in an elimination contest yesterday afternoon.
"Our guys put up a fight and I am satisfied with that," said Glinton. "The guys definitely need more of these kind of tournaments. They don't get to face this kind of competition back home so it was a good experience for us. If we keep playing in tournaments like this, we could only get better," he added.
Not only do they intend to be back next year, but Glinton said that they will try to come back every year if they are invited. He gave his assurance that when they do return, they will be tremendously improved and a force to reckon with.
"I definitely think that they will be more prepared next year," said Glinton. "This is just their first time here so I didn't expect much from them. If they keep playing in tournaments like these, they are going to go a long way. I'm very happy with the effort they gave," he added.
The Turks' team might have been outmatched in their loss to the Dolphins yesterday afternoon, but they gave it their all on the basketball court, and Glinton was quite satisfied with that. As a matter of fact, they even threatened to pull off the victory. Their captain Jermaine Delancey dropped in a game high 18 points, including back-to-back three pointers in the fourth quarter which gave the Turks' team the lead.
However, after Delancey fouled out in the final minute of the game, the Turks' team had no one to turn to offensively. They failed to score a point after that. Thanks to the hot hand of Francis Delva, who converted on four out of five attempts from three point land, and Dominique Evans and Rashad Moxey, who both had big fourth quarters, the Dolphins were able to salvage a victory.
Courtesy of www.thenassauguardian.com
