NEEDING a maximum of two points from tonight’s game against Canada to rejoin the North Americans at the top of Group B in FIBA’s Americas Qualifiers for the 2027 Basketball World Cup, Jamaica could take inspiration from Thursday’s narrow 96-99 loss to The Bahamas, their first home match in the series.

Jamaica started the fourth quarter with a four-point lead, 81-77, but lost 96-99 — a defeat which former national player Courtney Campbell said could have been a case of home jitters.

Lacking the infrastructure to host games at the National Indoor Sports Centre, Jamaica had surrendered home advantage to Puerto Rico last year but stunned the Central Americans 92-90 and 97-92 on the road to sit atop Group B with Canada on four points.

Campbell, who led Main Event Entertainment Group’s retrofitting of the National Indoor Sports Centre to FIBA’s standards, says the JamRockerz would have since acclimatised to their home court and could stun Canada as they did Puerto Rico.

“They would have now gained more confidence from the feel of home court, fans, and the entire set-up of the venue that FIBA regulates — lights, sound, screens, down to the decor,” said Campbell, who represented Jamaica from 1989-1992 before going on to play for Wayne State University in NCAA Division II.

Campbell said the JamRockerz’s overseas-based players would have been pleasantly surprised by the National Indoor Sports Centre’s readiness to host FIBA qualifiers, a challenging undertaking endorsed by an official overseeing Main Event’s technical teams.

Campbell, senior project manager for Main Event Entertainment Group, drew on his experience as a player to transform the Indoor Sports Centre to FIBA’s specifications.

“The Indoor Sports Centre was not purpose-built for basketball,” he said. “FIBA, however, requires the venue and everything associated with the qualifiers to be of international standard. At venues designed for basketball, everything would have been in place, awaiting players and the crowd.”

Live feeds for the games are shown on 16’x9’ screens behind the goals, supplemented by 12’x7’ scoreboards at opposing corners, replacing the Indoor Sports Centre’s 4’x3’ scoring apparatus.

“Each international league has its stipulations,” Campbell said. “FIBA is no different, and its representatives have been here monitoring everything.”

Other standard equipment, especially lighting, had to be significantly improved for Jamaica’s historic hosting of FIBA qualifiers, with approximately 50 lights installed, requiring between 1700-2000 lumens per lamp.

Jamaica start tonight’s game at 6 pm — second on five points in Group B, led by Canada on six, while The Bahamas, who moved to four points — will play Puerto Rico (3) at 5 pm in the opening match.

The Americas Qualifiers comprise four groups in ROUND One, from which the top three teams per group will advance to round two.