Team determined to keep their crown
A number of their players play in the mainland professional leagues of nearby Greece.
Trott said: “They will definitely have a good team. No one talks about losing — to go there and beat them on their home court would be special.”
Right now Bermuda’s national squad are in the midst of a selection process which will see numbers whittled down to just 12 names come March.
Big things are expected of Chris Crumpler, an American who qualifies to play as he his married to a Bermudian.
“He played Division Two basketball in Florida,” said Trott.
Sullivan Phillips who is playing professional in Hungary is back on form after taking a while to adjust to his new eastern European environment.
“He started slow but it may have been a communication problem but he’s adjusted and is doing quite well.”
Phillips plays for Men’s “A” League side Kaposvari after playing in the British Basketball League for the Brighton Bears, Birmingham Bullets and the London Towers
After playing in three out of five positions the experience has added to Phillips’ game believes Trott.
“At this point he’s our leader on the floor.”
But he hopes the team can rely less on Philips and allow him more freedom. “There was a time when he went off the court that things didn’t go as well as we wanted it.
“Chris Crumpler will play a major part — he can play point guard or short guard, he’s one of the better ball handlers.
“We are still in the trial period,” said Trott although he added he was pretty sure about top eight guys.
A tour in Ontario is being lined up with dates possible in Toronto, St. Catherine’s and London.
Meanwhile the women’s team are also narrowing down their shortlist from a smaller pool of players.
Those hoping to make the grade will get their chance to shine when Bermuda takes on Worcester State College in the first week in January in two exhibition games.
The fixtures against the Division Three US college side from Massachusetts will go some way to making up for the lack of international exposure domestic players suffer from.
In Gibraltar the women’s team got bronze although the lack of teams took some of the shine off that achievement.
Champions Guernsey and Caymans are the teams to beat.
The nucleus of the Gibraltar ‘05 squad is still there although the a few newcomers are showing promise.
Former US college star Kim Montgomery who lives abroad could make the cut. “Hopefully she will bring some maturity and professionalism we didn’t have in the last tournament.”
Youngster Erica Woods is looking likely despite being only in her mid teens. She has been playing above her age in school games and could be playing in the junior boys division soon.
“She’ll be ready,” said Trott who said the January exhibition games will be a good guide to form.
Asked about prospects in Rhodes, Trott said it was difficult to gauge given the lack of games.
“We have been training religiously since September. Everybody has shown dedication. Hopefully that can pay off.
“Every time teams get better but our chances are as good as anybody else’s.”
