Basketball coach disappointed

“We could have done better.”
That’s the assessment of coach of the St. Vincent and Grenadines Women’s Basketball team Wayne Williams, to the recently concluded Caribbean Tournament held in Santiago, Cuba.{{more}}
This country ended in the cellar position in their group, losing the three preliminary matches.
In addition, SVG lost both matches in the consolation phase.
SVG was blown out by Jamaica 87-31, went under to Barbados 50-36, and was pushed aside by the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), 63-52, in the
preliminaries.
In the consolation round Bahamas got past the Vincentians and the USVI made light work of them again, 63-42.
But Williams said he was “disappointed” with the team’s “lack of offence”.
He said that prior to the tournament he was “optimistic.
“From the outset, we had good plans, but most of them fell through due to lack of resources,” Williams recalled.
Williams was referring to the proposed camp and the availability of all the overseas–based players.
He lamented, too, that the team had one training session while in Cuba and that the players were unfamiliar with the size of the basketball used in the tournament.
Though not using these as excuses for his team’s poor showing, Williams said, “They were contributing factors.”
Williams chided some of his players for not giving 100 per cent effort. But he was high in praise for 36-year-old US–based Andrea Jackson-Rucker, who he said gave her all.
The coach disclosed that the standard of the tournament was high and it was a learning experience for his team.
Williams added that one of the top players in the Women’s segment was of Vincentian parentage. That player was Desiree Haywood who represented the USVI.
He said that there were “pluses” from the tournament for the Vincentians.
He pointed to the cultural aspects as well as adaptation to different situations, as the positives.
Williams opined that St. Vincent and the Grenadines need greater exposure at the sub-regional level if it is to make a greater impact on the wider circuit.
Cuba won the Women’s version of the tournament among the eight competing countries.