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Jamaica Basketball expecting full house - For historic World Cup Qualifiers against Bahamas
February 26, 2026
When Jamaica take on Bahamas in the FIBA Americas World Cup Qualifiers at the National Indoor Sports Centre today, Jamaica Basketball Association (JaBA) president Paulton Gordon is anticipating a full house.
The JamRockerz will play their first-ever basketball World Cup Qualifiers on home soil, with tip-off set for 6 p.m.,, before a second home game against Canada on Sunday, March 1 at 6:10 p.m.
JaBA president Gordon said the historic match is a huge success for the association, the sport and for the island overall.
He expects a full house of fans to cheer on the team, particularly after back-to-back away wins against Puerto Rico last year to open their qualifying campaign.
"It's not only huge for Jamaica Basketball, this is huge for Jamaica overall. We're accustomed to world-class activities in track and field and football but for the first ever, we're playing the basketball World Cup qualifiers here.
"And this is coming off the back of us beating Puerto Rico twice in Puerto Rico, so the energy is there and we're hoping for a full house."
Gordon is confident the team can begin the second window of Group B action with a win.
"I am expecting a victory over Bahamas and the Canada game is going to be a really tough, tough game. But with the quality we have and the motivation we have, I think we can pull it off," the JaBA president said.
"We expect a very good performance from them because they want to represent well and a lot of them are playing in front of their families and friends in Jamaica," he continued.
"Many of them would have left Jamaica years ago to go to college overseas and playing professionally so they'd really want to put on a good performance."
The JamRockerz currently sit second in Group B of the FIBA Americas Qualifiers with four points, behind leaders Canada, who also have four points. Puerto Rico and Bahamas follow with two points apiece.
The top three teams from the group will advance to the second round of the Americas Qualifiers, where they will be placed in two groups of six.
The top three teams from those groups will qualify for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup, while the two fourth-place teams will play off for the final World Cup spot.
