Basketball community mourns passing of veteran administrator

PRESIDENT of Jamaica Basketball Association, Paulton Gordon, says the passing of veteran administrator Elfraito ‘Alf’ Remikie will leave a huge gap in the country’s basketball programme.

“It’s a major loss to the basketball community as he had a wealth of knowledge and will be certainly missed. The different sections of Jamaica’s basketball community leaned on him to ensure that we were on the right path as it relates to the FIBA regulations and the technical side of what is required for basketball. It will leave a huge gulf to be filled with his passing,” Gordon said.

The former administrator, player, coach and national coordinator died yesterday morning at the Spanish Town Hospital two days after he was found unresponsive at his home. Gordon shared that Remikie was set to undergo another passion of his, which was to assist the local coaches in meeting new FIBA requirements following his recent training sessions in Miami, Florida. One of Remikie’s his biggest projects was the Star Search Basketball Camp which gives local players the opportunity to gain overseas scholarships.

“He recently returned from Miami having done a ‘train the trainer’ course. So, he was set to do the certification and upscaling of the local coaches based on International Basketball Federation (FIBA) requirements. The Star Search Basketball Camp is where we expose our youngsters to the possibility of scholarships and help move them from high school to the collegiate level. That has been happening for the last 25 years and he was there from the start. He was easily the centrepiece of that camp and this will be big shoes to fill,” Gordon said.

The basketball association boss shared that it’s a rough patch for Jamaica’s basketball community who recently lost another stalwart in Marland Nattie. He added that in upcoming days discussions will be had on the best way to build on and improve the work left behind by Remikie.

“He was integral towards the development of local basketball along with Marland Nattie. So, we’ve lost two stalwarts within a year. Over the next few days, we will be having dialogue with the minister of sport and the president of the Jamaica Olympic Association. By then, we should have a better idea as to what will be done to keep the legacy of Mr Remikie alive and help move the sport that he loved so much forward,” Gordon said.

orane.buchanan@gleanerjm.com