Portmore Flames aiming to impress in upcoming NBL season
Published:Monday | May 1, 2023 | 12:53 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
The Jason McIntosh-coached Portmore Flames will be among the contenders vying for the 2023 National Basketball League (NBL) title when top-flight basketball returns to local courts later this month after a three-year stoppage.
With less than a month remaining before the start of the league, coach McIntosh stated that preparations are in high gear.
“We are in training,” McIntosh told The Gleaner. “We train three times per week - Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. My players and I were very excited (about the decision to resume the league) because during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no local basketball,” McIntosh stated.
Coach McIntosh revealed that his 15-member squad, in his estimation, has the right balance of youth and experience, which could be the difference between winning and losing throughout the tournament.
“We have a squad of 15 players, inclusive of seven veterans and some young talent. The Portmore Flames are a defensive-minded team, and as such, that will help us to transition into our offence. A successful season for us would be to make it into the second round and keep that high-level team spirit and then take it from there,” the coach revealed.
Although the Flames will depend heavy on their ‘defence first’ mentality, Coach McIntosh believes that for his charges to create problems for his opponents on a nightly basis, there are other areas of play that the team needs to work on.
“We are also working on our outside shooting, pick and rolls, and we also have some other plays that we are working on at the moment. We are not perfect as we are not where we want to be as yet, but we are trying to get there,” he said.
For the 2023 season to end with the Portmore Flames listed as champions, Coach McIntosh revealed that it would take an all-out team effort that involves trusting each other.
“It would need team work, all hands on deck, and also discipline on both the defensive and offensive end,” McIntosh said.
orane.Buchanan@gleanerjmcom