Last month, financial and logistical issues cast doubt on Jamaica’s staging of its FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. Now, with tip-off minutes away, Jamaica Basketball Association (JABA) president Paulton Gordon is looking forward to some historic nights on home soil.

The National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston will see top level international basketball for the first time as Jamaica take on Bahamas on Thursday and Canada on Sunday in their group games of Americas qualifying.

It will also be the senior team’s first official match at home after foregoing hosting duties in their opening game against Puerto Rico in November. JABA were unable to meet the world governing body’s hosting requirements during an inspection in September, resulting in Puerto Rico staging the contest at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan.

Hosting this month also looked unlikely with the local body needing to raise $44 million dollars which would include the acquisition of a modern scoreboard, new basketball hoops and other venue facilities.

However, following weeks-long discussions with government and private sector, Gordon says they’re virtually ready for the games.

“The pieces are coming into place. We have a few things to sort out but the major pieces are pretty much in place,” he told the Jamaica Observer. “The retrofitting of the space to the requirements of FIBA – we have that here and Main Event (Entertainment Group) is actually putting the other pieces in place for us to ensure that we have a real show on Thursday night.”

It’s been a difficult journey for JABA but Gordon says the impact it will have on the sport makes the efforts worthwhile.

“When you look at the bigger picture in terms of what it can mean for basketball, this is why we do it,” he said.

“The players are hyped (and) ready to go, the coaching staff is ready to go and they see the amount of work we have put into this. The support people who are around the team – they have been working tirelessly to ensure that all the bits and pieces are in place and we are optimistic and we know that on Thursday we’ll have a great show.”

Today’s match against the Bahamas is set for 6:10 PM with Sunday’s game against Canada set for 6 PM.

Jamaica are currently joint top of Group B with Canada on four points with Puerto Rico in third and Bahamas in fourth on two points each.

With the top three qualifying for the final round, a win for the Jamaicans would secure their spot as the push to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Qatar.