The Island men's team returned from basketball’s alternative Island Games tournament with five defeats, which was a somewhat cruel outcome for a side who had consistently held their own and lost out to the Falklands initially by just three points, then never by more than 10 in following matches.
That left head coach Adam Farish with conflicting feelings.
One the one hand, describing the matches as ‘coach’s games’, he admitted that losing all five means his own position will have to be reviewed in the build-up to the Faroe Islands 2027.
‘I am committed to the process to take us to the Faroes, but we have to look at whether we have got the right people in place and that includes me,’ he said.
But he had universal praise for the players, seven of whom had never contested a big tournament before, and four not being older than 20.
They were Guernsey by name but certainly a very different side to the one that finished fifth and above all their recent opponents at the last official Games basketball tournament in 2023.
In the build-up to Ynys Mon, Farish had felt their opponents would potentially see Guernsey as the ‘team to beat’, but Nico Robinson’s withdrawal shortly before the flight – deciding to stay and support his pregnant wife – did not play into their hands.
‘Losing Nico at the 11th hour was a big factor,’ he added.
‘We all agreed it could have made a real difference.’
Ciaran Hamilton helped fill the void and his impressive performances on the interior included a double-double against the Faroes on day three.
He scored 11 points but beyond that contributed 16 rebounds to his team’s cause, earning him most valuable player honours for that match.
‘Ciaran, who had been coming in with a very different role, really stepped up for us all week.’
Jason Hooper had been the other Sarnian MVP of the tournament, showing real staying power with a 31-point and eight-rebound performance against Jersey.
The coach also reserved praise for the youngsters, like Dan Naftel, Saul Falla and the two Harrys Heaume and Gent.
‘It’s great to see all of those growing into their roles throughout the week.
‘All of them contributed, and in particular it was the way they handled themselves.’
Then there was fellow up-and-coming player Kaine Hyde’s impact on the court – and even from the sidelines.
‘He played fantastically and was a positive noise from the bench.’
However, Farish added: ‘It’s hard to single people out because everybody really put in the effort.’
Losing by an 80-75 margin to the gold medal-winning hosts on the final day captured just how close the Sarnians had come to having a very different tournament.
The relatively inexperienced Guernsey side had taken it to the undefeated leaders, building up a seven-point advantage early into the second quarter, and only lost grasp of the game in the dying minutes.
That was to a team that had crushed Jersey 76-53 and the Isle of Man 82-48.
All said, Farish feels that there is plenty of positivity in the Guernsey camp ahead of Faroe Islands 2027.
‘There’s a real buzz and a real confidence.
‘The final game where we just lost out to Ynys Mon, who rolled over teams throughout the week, gave us some real confidence going forwards.
‘We could have folded and lost that by 20.
‘The character the lads showed to fight in every game was fantastic. We took a lot of positives from the week.’
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