FOR the first time in the history of the Islamic Solidarity Games, Guyana will be represented in the discipline of 3X3 basketball.

The Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) yesterday announced that point guard Stanton Rose Jr will lead Timothy Thompson, Nikkoloi Smith and Harold Adams into battle at the games set for August 9-18 in Konya, Turkey.

Rose and Thompson recently represented Guyana at the inaugural Caribbean Games where they teamed up with Kemol Grimmond and Yonnick Tappin to secure bronze.
The 22-year-old Rose, who hails from Kwakwani, has always been a stand-out player ever since he burst onto the scene at the Youth Basketball Guyana National School Championship for Kwakwani Secondary.

Though dominating the backcourt in local club basketball with Bounty Colts as a teenager, Rose’s stardom status came after he captained Guyana to their maiden Caribbean Basketball Championships in Suriname.
Rose was also named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP); the first and only Guyanese to hold the accolade at the prestigious Caribbean event.

The GABF was the first for any local governing body for a particular discipline to officially announce representatives for the Islamic Solidarity Games.
Recently, the Michael Singh-led GABF has been emphasising basketball’s shortest format, with Guyana sending both male and female teams to the FIBA AmeriCup 3X3 tournament in Miami, Florida. (Rawle Toney)