Four basketball players represented the island at the 3x3 Quest Basketball tournament in Guyana last weekend.

Yusef Riley, John Lee, Darae Smith and Miami-based Jonathan Lowe travelled to Georgetown to take on teams from the host nation, St Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago and Switzerland.

Riley, the captain of Hamilton Bermuda, was proud of the effort of his team, who played four matches over two days.

“I feel blessed to have travelled with the team,” Riley told The Royal Gazette.

“It’s always a blessing to represent your country, even though this tournament wasn't the Bermuda national team. Due to the nature of the tournament, it was more so a team travelling from Bermuda.

“I think we did a good job of competing, playing with heart and learning in the process. Most people don’t know there are completely different rules and nuances to the game of 3x3, and the four guys that went have never played in that style of competition together.”

Riley believes that the sport has the opportunity to grow in Bermuda and is urging stakeholders to collaborate to boost its profile.

“It’s a growing sport so as Bermuda’s players get more comfortable with the rules and how the game is officiated, we will become better at the little things that make teams great.

“It would be a great idea for the Bermuda Basketball Association and the Department of Sport and Recreation to get together and introduce it at the grass roots level.

“As far as success goes, we did not capture a win but we were successful at getting better every game and the scores reflect that.

“It’s worth mentioning that of the 76 players to play in the tournament, there were only six who were not professional basketball players. The entire Bermuda team was included in that six as we are a group of guys who work regular nine-to-five jobs.

“One thing that would be remiss if I did not mention was the hospitality of the people, the organisers and the state-of-the-art facilities down in Guyana. Hopefully, we can host the tournament someday through partnership between government and the BBA.”

For Lee, this form of basketball presents Bermuda with a chance of being able to compete at major international events.

“I was pleasantly surprised with the opportunity to represent Bermuda in this new format of the sport I loved,“ the veteran player said.

“Although we had a small window to prepare and there were multiple unknowns, I was very eager to participate in the competition.

“I wasn’t surprised at how good the talent level was and I was also happy to see that we matched up well with all the other teams that were participating. I think we competed well in every game and look forward to getting some wins the next time we suit up for another tournament.

“As a veteran player, I think this format of the game gives Bermuda its best chance to potentially qualify for an Olympic tournament in basketball. I’m glad we are starting to explore it more.”

Smith pointed out that had it not been for time constraints, they could have posted better results.

“I want to start by saying it's always an honour to represent Bermuda in any shape or form,” Smith said.

“I feel with more time and preparation results would have swung our way for sure. It was definitely an eye-opener being able to hold our own with mostly professional players.”

Team manager Joshua Nesbitt viewed the trip as a chance to see how they measure up to their potential international opponents.

“This was a great opportunity to see the level of competition that Bermuda would face in the 3x3 climate and to see how we compared,” the BBA vice-president said.

“Although we did not win on our first foray into 3x3, the players stepped up to the challenge against seasoned veterans from countries such as Switzerland.”