Jamaica face Antigua & Barbuda on opening day

NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC):

Jamaica will start their defence of the men's title against Antigua and Barbuda, when the Caribbean Championships open on July 23 at the Kendall Isaacs Gymnasium here.

The Jamaicans, whose line-up could be boosted by a number of overseas-based players, will be looking to secure the title for the fifth time.

They will not take their opponents lightly, since the Antiguans have finished as high as third in the Championships twice in the last decade.

Both sides are contesting Group A of the competition, which also features the United States Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands on opening day.

There will also be two Group B matches on the first day, with Bermuda to face St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the hosts to meet the Cayman Islands.

finals

The men's competition concludes with the finals on July 29, and five days later, the women's competition will open at the same venue.

The women's competition will be contested under a round-robin format, however, due to a lack of teams.

Puerto Rico, the champions from the previous women's competition four years ago, will not take part this time, so runners-up Trinidad & Tobago will start as the favourites.

T&T will face Cuba on the opening day, which also features the Dominican Republic against the USVI, and hosts Bahamas against St Vincent & the Grenadines.

From the two Caribbean tournaments, the top three teams will advance to the Centro Basket Championship, which is contested between the top eight countries in the Central American and Caribbean region.

At the end of the Centro Basket Championship, the top four teams in the men's and women's competitions will secure berths in the FIBA Americas Zone Championships.

From the Zone Championships, the top three teams will go on to the World Championships or the Olympics, whichever is held first at the completion of the latter event.