By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net    

EVER since the Bahamas senior men’s national basketball team won the FIBA Men’s Pre-Qualifying Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in Santiago del Estero, Argentina, last summer, there has been growing optimism about the team’s chances of making Bahamian history at the Olympic level.

The national team is now gearing up for pool play in Group B of the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament slated to begin tomorrow in Valencia, Spain. 

First up on the schedule will be the no.17 ranked Finland, who will be playing without the services of Utah big man Lauri Markkanen. The following day The Bahamas will go up against the no. 15 ranked Poland national team.

If the team is successful in the final phase of Olympic qualification, it will become the first time The Bahamas had made it to the Olympics for a team sport.  Before the next chapter of the Olympic qualification begins for The Bahamas, veteran national team member Jaraun “Kino” Burrows said it is a “dream come true” to witness and be a part of the team’s development over the last 18 years.

“I have been a part of the programme since 2006 for about 18 years now. I have seen this thing come from one level completely to the next. Back then, we used to dream about being able to put together teams like this and play this level of competition in Europe and on the world stage. To be here and to be present is honestly a dream come true. I am just so proud to be Bahamian and to be a part of this basketball culture that we are building. I think this is just the beginning and 242 to the World is gonna continue,” he said.

The Bahamas Basketball Federation (BBF) has a star-studded roster set to represent the country. The roster is headlined by NBA pros Deandre Ayton, newest 76er Eric “EJ” Gordon and Chavano “Buddy” Hield. 

Burrows said it has been an honour to observe the different generations of basketball talent playing for the national team and witness a shift in the culture.

“I have been around long enough to see everybody’s first national team experience. I had a chance in my rookie year to play with Franco Miller Sr, who I was mentored by, and now I have an opportunity to mentor Franco Miller Jr. I have seen so much and I have seen a complete culture change starting with a guy like Buddy Hield making a commitment to his country to come home and help to build this thing and shift this culture to where we are. He led and everybody else followed. 

“Now you see we have our top players coming home and even exciting young talent like VJ, Donnie and AJ all ready and willing to come home and represent with passion and pride.

“It is just a wonderful feeling to see this culture, hunger and level of talent coming out of the country. It is just so special and I am so happy to be a part of it,” he said. 

With a good combination of veteran, collegiate and high school talent, the 18-year national team member said the mindset is the same as it was last summer  for the upcoming FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. 

“The mindset is similar to last summer. These windows are tricky because you have to put together a team, cut and submit the players within a certain amount of time and then you have to build chemistry which takes time. We have had the opportunity to play in some friendly games and we have had a great training camp. The mindset is just go out here and represent with pride and passion and try to make history. I think everybody is on the same page starting with the general manager LJ Rose to the coaching staff led by Chris DeMarco to the federation. We are all locked in on trying to make history and getting this job done,” he said.

The Bahamas played in two international friendlies against Greece and Montenegro in the Aegean Acropolis Tournament in Athens, Greece, last week. 

The team, which is now ranked at no. 8 on the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament Power Rankings, dropped back-to-back games to both clubs.

They dropped game one 93-80 against Montenegro and fell 102-75 in game two against a Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Greece team.

According to Burrows, the coaching staff didn’t want to show too much in the international friendlies but they have been watching film to work on minor mistakes.

“The team has been working really hard. We have been doing a lot of film study and a lot of on the court work. Also, the training staff behind the scenes is working full-time to keep our bodies stretched and massaged and feeling good. I just think we have a good collective of veteran leadership, young talent and a great coaching staff. The goal is to get the job done,” he said.

The 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament will run from July 2-7. The team to prevail over the six squads (Group A and B) will be promoted to the Paris Olympic Games slated for July 26 to August 11.