BABA president Garrett passes away

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

President of the Barbados Amateur Basketball Association (BABA) Derrick Garrett died at his home on Friday, following a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 53.

Garrett, also the uncle of West Indies Test and One-day International captain Jason Holder, headed the association for six years and was credited with sparking a revival in the sport in the island, following a few tumultuous years in the previous decade.

"He really did a lot for basketball, staying with the sport throughout, from a junior national player to Division 1 and straight into administration," said Anton Lovell, a former national junior teammate of Garrett, in a tribute carried in the Daily Nation newspaper.

"His leadership was exemplary. When he picked up basketball, it was going downhill, but Garrett managed to stabilise the sport, and you could see every year, the administration of the game started to improve."

MODEST PLAYING CAREER

After a modest playing career that saw him represent the island at the youth level and help Station Hill Cavaliers, one of the island's leading clubs, to the title, the lanky Garrett made a smooth transition from playing to administration and was elected organising secretary of the BABA between 2007 and 2011.

On his elevation to the post of president, he put initiatives in place to revive the sport in the lower divisions of the club competition and got national teams to return to participation in the Caribbean Championships following a spell of absence.

The local association has postponed all matches which were scheduled for the weekend as a mark of respect to Garrett.