Trinidad and Tobago's men's 3x3 basketball coach Christopher Jackson Charles said his team will be aiming to better their performance from the 2023 Pan American Games when they compete at the FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup in San Juan, Puerto Rico from December 12-15.
Under the guidance of Charles, TT famously copped a bronze medal finish at the 2023 Pan Am Games in Chile. And though TT will have to navigate a qualifying group before advancing to the main draw of the AmeriCup, Charles reckons his team's chances are as good as any.
TT's quartet for the AmeriCup will be Chike Augustine, Ahkeel "Smally" Boyd, Moriba De Freitas and Tyrese Fields, who's the newest and youngest member of the team at 19. Wayne Samuel will serve as physio/manager and will round off the six-member contingent which will jet off for Puerto Rico from 10.30 am on December 10.
After roughly five weeks of rigorous and intense training and trimming his squad from 19 to four, Charles believes TT has a team fully capable of obtaining a podium finish although they will no longer be seen as a surprise package.
"We want to piggyback on the Pan American Games when we got the bronze medal," Charles told Newsday on December 9.
"We believe we have a very good chance of doing well. The players have the belief and the staff have the belief. We're going to do better than what we did in the Pan Am Games. I know we have the personnel who can do well for TT. That being said, we have to play the games and they're very intense."
TT are in group B of the qualifying round alongside Cuba, Jamaica and St Kitts and Nevis. TT will play their first match against St Kitts and Nevis from 2.20 pm on December 12, with their matches versus Cuba and Jamaica following at 7.15 pm and 8.30 pm respectively on the same day.
Only the group winner will advance to the next round from the qualifying phase. Coupled with their skill and growing acclimatisation to the 3x3 game, Charles thinks they have done their homework and necessary scouting to give them the edge for the qualifying group.
TT are ranked 14th out of the 19 competing teams at the AmeriCup, a standing which Charles said reflects on the team's inactivity in the 3x3 format and not their ability as a group.
Charles said the competition for places was really stiff, and the final four spots were determined very late in the training camp. He said it's a good omen for the current 3x3 setup and the national programme for years to come.
"It became a dogfight as a coach as far as I'm concerned because a lot of the players had the skill to do one particular thing that was good for 3x3," Charles said.
"It was a good thing, because as a coach I like when it's harder to pick a team. I think that makes your team better. I like that as I like it to be competitive.
"The players who have been picked – that's one of the reasons – they're mentally tough and it's not only about being a good player and whether they can shoot or pass. (It's about the) ability to withstand the rigorous games because we want to be playing the last gam
