This year’s meeting will be particularly important to the ladies, in terms of regaining credibility – and proving a point.The Guernsey organisers were outspoken in their criticism that they did not compete last year.Coach John Small said: ‘We told Guernsey that we had seven players who could have played, but they would all have been novices.
They wouldn’t have provided any challenge to the Guernsey side, who were last year’s Island Games champions, they would have been thrashed and probably never have played again.
That would not have been of benefit to Jersey or Guernsey.’But this year Small has had the luxury of having had to select a team.’There have been enough women wanting to play that I have had to leave some out.
The team probably have some of the most experienced basketball players in the Channel Islands on their side.
Natalie Michalak has played for the Rhonnda Rebels, one of the UK’s best ladies’ national League sides, and Jenni Bouteloup has just returned from Nicaragua where she has been training with their national squad while Catherine Small has played at the top levels of university basketball.’There are also several new faces, and they’ve all been training hard for the last few months and are very positive about the forthcoming match, even though it’s likely to be something of a baptism of fire.
We don’t expect to win but are hoping we’ll give Guernsey a bit of a shock.
I know our ladies will acquit themselves well.’The senior men’s squad has benefited from the expertise of Rick Blakemore, for many years a top-level player and coach in the UK.
Blakemore will not announce the team until the last moment, although a few key players are injured.Full preview in today’s JEP.
