Coach Johnson’s ready, over $100,000 donated to basketball team

The National Basketball team is preparing to take on regional heavy weights in Santo Domingo at the upcoming Centrobasket 2010 tournament. The head coach, former N.B.A. player, Marques Johnson, has already been recruited and the composition of the team will soon be determined. Belize hopes to repeat its COCABA stellar performance at the July games; but to get there the team needs funding. News Five’s Jose Sanchez has a report on the team’s road map to Santo Domingo.

Jose Sanchez, reporting

This weekend several athletes are arriving in the country to become part of the National Basketball Team.  The expense of bringing players and attending the Centro Basket tournament in the Dominican Republic is estimated at two hundred thousand dollars.  Private, as well as government agencies, made substantial donations this afternoon to see our Olympic hoop dreams come true.

John Saldivar, Minister of Sports

john saldivar

“Today’s brief ceremony then, is the first step in helping to fulfill the financial needs to make this trip a reality. The Government of Belize and especially our Prime Minister, has done an effort to raise most of the funds we have raised today and I want to certainly say a thank you to the various organizations that have so readily and so  willingly agreed to help in this effort.”

The coaching staff is being led by former N.B.A. player Marques Johnson. Despite not having the entire team in the country and on the court, Johnson believes the veteran players will aid in the team’s cohesiveness.

marques johnson

Marques Johnson, Head Coach, National Basketball Team

“One of the positives, in that situation, is that the players that we had from last year that were so successful in Cancun, Milt Palacio, Marlon Garnett, Charlie Burgess, Alex Carcamo, I mean these guys are season veterans. So, we’re gonna put and that’s what myself and the coach of staff ,we’ve been working diligently to try and build the foundation defensively and offensively; and when Milt and Marlon comes in sometime  next week, it’s not  gonna be that difficult to infuse them and to integrate them into what we’re trying to do. It’s gonna be some intense practice. We’re gonna have hopefully ten, twelve practices to try and help get things together. They’ll be some two a day, twice a day practices; but because of the experience of these players and after watching them on film last night, I’m even more convinced that they’ll be hitting the ground running. They’re gonna come in ready to play.”

Paul Thompson, President, B.F.F.

paul thompson

“We have about 25, a few new players that we’re trying to bring in are some of our bigger players, Leon Sunny Watson, and I think we know of him; he’s a six-ten player, we tried to get him last year, but that was unsuccessful. We’re hopeful that he will make it. We’re also trying to attract, Noel Felix, is another six-ten player who played for Seattle Supersonics for a couple seasons. So those are the two big names that we are trying to add to the team that we have. You mentioned Darwin Leslie, part of twenty-five man roster, and he will be attending practice this evening. So we have at least fourteen players that are local based.”

Marques Johnson

“We’re going to do everything within our power to be as prepared as humanly possible. So that when we start practicing, when the bulk of the players get into Belize over the weekend, we can kind of start getting at it the first of next week. We will be prepared and ready to go. And I understand enormity of the CentroBasket tournament, I understand the success the team had last year, I can understand from watching the talent level of players that we have at our disposal.  I’ve been particularly active trying to make sure that we get even more talent. There are a couple of guys, big guys that will be coming in this weekend that will only help our cause in terms of making the bests showing possible. I look at this as a possible stepping stone for bigger coaching opportunities in the United States, for me this is a big opportunity.”

The minister of sports presented a thirty-five thousand dollars cheque from the government to the B.B.F. B.T.L. also presented a cheque of an equal sum.  The B.T.B. gave a cheque with an undisclosed sum.  Social Security Board, Central Bank and Maya Air chipped in with ten thousand dollars each while the Princess Hotel and Casino gave room discounts valued at twenty-five thousand dollars.

John Saldivar

“At final count for today when we are through with the presentation of cheques it will be in excess of one hundred thousand dollars that we have raised for this effort. I wish our team the greatest of success, our hopes rides high with the team and its coaching staff.

Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.