By Neto Baptiste
Veteran and national basketball player, Bryan “Hollywood” Matthew, believes “more can be done” regarding efforts to rebuild interest in the sport following an almost two-year layoff due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking recently on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show Matthew, who has won several national titles with Cuties Ovals Ojays, said that despite past meetings between the clubs and the local governing body on the way forward, there has been little progress in terms of a plan for the return of the leagues.
“I think much more can be done to get it going because I really haven’t seen anything. I think we had a few meetings and after that it all fell, I wouldn’t say on deaf ears, but we haven’t been doing anything that I have seen to push it and everyone has just been doing it off of their own,” he said.
Matthew, who will be hosting a three on three tournament in December as part of efforts to generate interest, said that activities on basketball courts across the island would indicate that players and fans are ‘hungry’ for the sport.
“If you drive around to the different courts you’ve seen the energy from the young players as well as those who have been in the fold for a while. I’ve seen it for myself so I know I miss it, I know they miss it so something like this I am sure everyone would be rearing just to pit themselves against one another to put some competition in there,” the player said.
In March 2020, the government suspended all competitions indefinitely after the country recorded its first case of the deadly Covid-19 virus. However, a recent Cabinet decision lifted that suspension as of November 22.