Masterful performance by Amos Down Under
Kitimaat Village councillor Gerald Amos returned from Australia last month with a silver medal earned at the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games. The point guard’s basketball team lost to an Abbotsford-based club in the finals.
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Updated: November 04, 2009 9:27 AM
Marcel Vander Wier
The three-point prowess of 60-year-old point guard Gerald Amos led a British Columbia-based team to within 10 points of a gold medal at the 2009 World Masters Games in Australia last month.
Amos, former chief and current councillor for Kitimaat Village, was part of the Silver Bullets, a team comprised of players ranging from age 60 to 72 which competed in the 60-plus “C” division in Sydney.
“We chose C, because we didn’t want to play against Mitch Wiggins,” Amos explained, referring to ‘80s NBA star Wiggins, who was competing in the “A” Division at the games.
The well-balanced team played against groups representing a variety of countries and fared well, losing only twice in a week’s worth of round-robin play. Amos clicked well with a trio of other players with a Kitimat connection - Tony McCrory, Neil Worboys and Gary Nesbit.
The gold-medal game pitted the Silver Bullets, loosely based out of Prince George, against another British Columbian club, based out of Abbotsford.
Amos said his team lost by 10 points. “We had a shot at it.”
“It was a good experience,” he said. “Just the sheer distance we travelled and the incredible number of people there participating.”
Approximately 20,000 athletes competed at the games, the seventh edition of the world’s largest multi-sport event.
Amos said he regularly plays in a provincial Masters basketball tournament held in Abbotsford.
This year, he was noticed and asked to play in Australia. His team flew to Sydney on Oct. 7 and returned on the 19th.
Amos said the silver medal win was a testament to his family and their commitment, adding that he was dedicating the medal to the memory of his deceased younger brother, Harold.
“It’s all about remembering where you came from,” said the father of three, grandfather of six and great-grandfather of one.
“For me, the basis of life is family. Without that, we’re floundering in the wind.”
Amos has been playing basketball since age 13 and said his greatest memories of the sport will forever be his six straight wins of the All-Native Tournament, back when he played alongside his youngest brother Morris.
“Kitimaat Village has put out some really good teams,” he said. “Nothing for us compares to the All-Native Tournament.”
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