And the man leading the national basketball selection will be Milton Palacio. The basketball star who led Belize to gold in the 1998 CARICOM games, played in the NBA for five seasons, and has been playing in Europe for the past three years. 10 years after CARICOM, he’s the backbone of the new national selection. He quietly arrived in Belize on Saturday and since then he has been practicing with the team. Following this evening’s workout, Palacio gave his first television interview to 7News. He told Keith Swift how he feels to be back in Belize and why he believes this team has a strong chance of advancing in the Cocaba tournament.
Keith Swift,
“What do you think of the team?”
Milton Palacio, Member – National Basketball Team
“Very talented. It is a very talented team. I think at the guard position and the wing position, I think we will probably be the most talented or one of the most talented teams down there. Big man wise we are a little short but we do have Alex and we do have Braddick so we’re waiting Keenan Jourdan to come in and Sonny Watson to help give us a hand and I think we will be fine. I think if we just go out there and play hard we will be fine.”
Keith Swift,
“How do you compare this team to the team in 1998?”
Milton Palacio,
“I hear that so much. I don’t know, I think the team in 1998, I think you will never have a team like that. I think that team back then was a special team, a special group of guys. We were here a month before, we stayed together, went to Venezuela, and so I think it is around the same talent but I think the talent level back then, we were a lot younger so I think we were better in ’98 but this team will be good.”
Keith Swift,
“Should we expect a better performance from you?”
Milton Palacio,
“Uhm I think more poise and performance from me. Not being wild and crazy like when I was younger but still being effective. I think the game a little more. I think back then I was just trying to go off my athletic ability and my talent but now it is thinking of the game now and trying to get the guys more involved because back then I had to shoot a lot more and score a lot more but now I think there is a lot more scorers than ’98. To be honest with you there is a lot more scorers but I think overall we had a lot of talent.”
Keith Swift,
“In announcing the cut today, the coach said that yourself along with Alex Carcamo will be the leaders of the team. Do you see yourself in that capacity?”
Milton Palacio,
“I think just me being the most seasoned guy here, having the most years and being here with CARICOM, I think all these guys could be leaders.”
Keith Swift,
“Are you satisfied with the selection that was made?”
Milton Palacio,
“You know my biggest thing is I didn’t really want to be a part of that and say, having a say in that because I didn’t want it to come back that Milt picked the team or anything like that. So I just really agreed with what they went on with and the guys, they are because when it comes to situations like this you got to go with your best regardless if it is local, foreign, or that.
I don’t like to get caught up in the local or foreign because everybody has a Belize passport, everybody has Belizean roots, everybody is raised Belizean so I don’t like it that way but I just think you got to bring your best 12 because Mexico is not going to look at foreigners this or foreigners that – they are going to bring their best to win. Panama is not looking at who plays there or here, they are bringing their best 12 regardless of where they are from, they are bringing their best 12. So I think you got to bring your best twelve and that is the final decision.”
Keith Swift,
“What would you say to the local guys who thought they would make it on the selection and didn’t?”
Milton Palacio,
“I think the biggest thing is you can’t stop because we’re not going to be around for the December season and the other tournaments, we are not going to be around. Those guys are going to be here so those guys can’t put their heads down. They didn’t make it this time but they will definitely be needed for other tournaments and things like that so they have to keep working and keep their skill level up because there is a lot of talent in this country.
You can’t keep your head down because you can get cut and then come back and play again. I’ve been cut before but I’ve put my head down, I just kept fighting and wanting to make myself better so the next time when it came around I made the team.”
Milton will be playing alongside his nephew Kyron Stokes who also made the cut. This is Milton’s first visit to Belize since 2003.
