Digicel continues to promote the sporting talents of our island’s youth by supporting the NBA camp programmes which encourage athletic youth to aspire for excellence in the game of basketball.
Returning home, last Monday, July 22, after setting one such record of excellence in her performance, was basketball’s great, fourteen-year old Kieana Vanterpool. She had travelled to Barbados and then to Trinidad to represent Anguilla in NBA’s Jumpstart Basketball camp.
When the dust settled, Kieana was named the number one performer in the gruelling competitions — held on July 20th and 21st — which included young players from all across the Caribbean region.
Mr. Merrit Richardson is one of Kieana’s coaches in her team Top Hill. He spoke to The Anguillian of her stellar performance: “I am very proud of Kieana,” he happily commented. “Of course, we are not surprised by her performance. It is just what we had expected.
“We had been looking all across the region for players, and we could find no one who could compare with Kieana’s talent. She is affectionately called ‘Kit’ on the team, and we think that she is destined to be an NBA star. She just has to keep up the hard work, take to the instructions and advice of her coaches, and keep on setting higher standards of excellence for herself. Her God-given talent is beyond merit. We are very proud of her, because she is the first in the Caribbean in her age group of 15 and under.”
When asked what he thought Kieana’s chances would be as an NBA icon, Mr. Richardson replied: Well, we know that after these camps there would be NBA officials who would be scouting for young people to be drafted in the US system for playing NBA college ball. In my view, I think she is well on her way to receiving an NBA scholarship.”
Miss Lisa Rey had accompanied Kieana to the games in her capacity as President of Anguilla’s Basketball Association. When asked what were her impressions of Kieana’s performance, she remarked: “I am extremely proud of Kieana. She worked really hard to achieve this feat. We have had a few struggles along the way, but we saw much improvement from one game session to another. From the playing of the test games in Barbados, everyone’s feelings were that Kieana would make it.
Merrit Richardson
“So during the games in Trinidad, when the NBA coaches would applaud her for her skills, and advise her on what areas she should focus on for improvement, I could tell that she was destined to be number one. I am just excited about her future in the sport.”
The Anguillian spoke briefly with Kieana herself, and when asked what were her feelings about achieving the number one position, she simply answered: “I am very excited about winning. I simply played with Anguilla in mind.”
Many representatives from Digicel, including Senior Marketing Executive, Roxann Webster; Digicel’s CEO, Kerchelle Jn Charles-Hodge, and Digicel’s Head of Consumer, Dawson Lewis, were at the Blowing Point Port, along with her friends and parents, to welcome and congratulate Kieana.
In 2015 Digicel signed an accord with the American NBA to sponsor basketball camps — across various islands of the Caribbean — for our regional youth. This makes Digicel the Official Communications Partner of the NBA within the Caribbean region.
– Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
