After a brief setback, the organizers of the True Champions Volleyball Tournament (TCVT) have confirmed that the semi-final round of the competition will be contested on Saturday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall; one week behind schedule.
The TCVT had to be re-scheduled because of the unavailability of the Sports Hall last Saturday for the staging of the tournament’s semi-finals. The facility was being used by members of the junior national basketball team who are preparing for the upcoming Inter-Guiana Games.
The tournament, which is sponsored by TradeWind Tankers and Guyoil, was launched on July 17 and had been running according to schedule with games at the Sports Hall and at venues in West Demerara and Berbice, until last Saturday’s postponement.
Organizers confirmed Saturday’s semi-final with the National Sports Commission on Monday and it is slated to commence at 18:00 hrs with the first of two semi-final matches.
The fixtures will see Young Achievers of West Demerara battle Rollers of New Amsterdam. GuySuCo Training School of Port Mourant will take on Castrol Strikers of Georgetown with the winners advancing to the final, while the two losers will face off for the third place.
The TCVT which is aimed at resuscitating and developing the sport was contested using a unique format over the past weeks of competition.
This provided teams the opportunity to prove their all-round strength and ability since it was contested at different venues to give teams an exposure to different playing conditions as well as to promote the game in different locations.
Since its start the tournament was played for two weekends each month.
So far the Young Achievers have been on top of the competition. They started with a bang in week one, won each round of the tournament and eventually became the top team in the TCVT at the end of the preliminary rounds at the GuySuCo Training Centre, Port Mourant, Berbice.
They finished with the best record, a total of 311 points, and have won both prizes on offer for the best team of the preliminary rounds. This puts them in a commanding position for the overall $80,000 prize and a trophy for the winners of the tournament.
GuySuCo Training School occupies second place with 293 points, while Castrol Strikers with 288 points secured the third position. And Rollers with 274 points grabbed the remaining qualifying position for the semi-finals.