Bermuda?s victory in men?s basketball at the Island Games was ?a big relief?.

Amid the high fives, bearhugs and gold medals being shared out in Gibraltar last Saturday, coach Roderick Spencer felt a huge weight of anxiety lift off his contingent who endured a lot en route to the tournament.

?It was definitely a big relief. That?s the key word to sum it up. We had been training hard for months leading up to it and we took a trip to Toronto to get ready for it. Then we had a few obstacles in our way, so to finally get there and accomplish our mission was great.

?Once that final game was over, and everyone realised what had happened, they just sat down and took a deep breath,? he said, recalling the aftermath of their 81-74 final outcome over Caman Islands.

In a nerve-wracking, second-half comeback, Bermuda overhauled their Caribbean rivals to celebrate an unbeaten run at the Games.

?Even though we were down in the final, we were doing everything we wanted to do. Our guys were just a little nervous and were dropping passes they wouldn?t normally and missing shots they wouldn?t normally miss,? disclosed Spencer.

?At half time they realised the Caymans hadn?t done anything to be in the lead and that we had just given them points. Once we had discussions at the half and made that clear to them, they came out more relaxed and comfortable in what they were doing and they showed that we were the better team.?

The coach credited a number of factors for the Island?s success, including the players? commitment and ability as well as the amazing support they received from fans.

?The support from the population of Gibraltar, especially the children, was overwhelming, especially for the younger players who are not used to having 30 or 40 kids hanging around the bench trying to get autographs,? he said, adding that crowds of more than a thousand spectators provided an electric atmosphere.

?That?s probably the most people any of our guys have ever played in front of. Everywhere we went the crowds adopted us, even when we played Gibraltar ? the home team ? we had as many supporters as they had.

?It was a tribute to our guys who got out there and talked to kids and signed autographs and gave them little souvenirs from Bermuda. As a result everyone took to us and we fed off the atmosphere at matches.?

Spencer also lauded the contribution of UK-based pro Sullivan Phillips whom he noted ?brought a level of professionalism to the team?.

?Without being too vocal, he showed the guys how to get ready to play, how to handle the referees, how to handle pressure in big games and things like that.?

In addition, the coach noted that Phillips? position as point guard was an area in which Bermuda were deficient.

?So having your best player in the position where you have the fewest number of players was a great help. His experience was as big an attribute as his playing ability,? he added.

Scoffing at the idea that some might question the quality of the basketball since only four teams participated, Spencer replied ?those who know basketball would be able to appreciate the victory for what it?s worth?.

?Three of the top five teams from the last Island Games were there. Cayman Islands won the silver medal last time and Gibraltar were fifth. We were the bronze medallists so the only medallists missing were the gold medallists, Rhodes, and they had won the gold by two points over the Caymans in 2003.

?So we knew the competition was still relatively strong. The fact that our guys went undefeated showed that they measured up to the competition. It wasn?t that we fumbled our way through.

?We played from in front and we played from behind. I think the basketball fraternity will be able to appreciate that and hopefully, this will make us stronger going forward.?

Despite the euphoria, the coach is however realistic about the chances of this success translating into bigger and better for Bermudian basketball.

?I would like to be optimistic and think it?s going to enable us to get more support to be able to do some of the things we would like to do as far as bringing teams here and travelling to play other teams but I don?t see that happening.

?Government and the corporate sector tend to put most of their sporting dollars behind cricket, soccer, equestrian and sailing. The only two sports that have really won any medals internationally are basketball and rugby and we don?t get any funding,? he said.