The long awaited final of the Inaugural Phillip George Legacy Basketball Tournament will take place this Friday night beginning at 19:00hrs at the country’s premier basketball facility the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
Georgetown’s leading first division team,Ravens are scheduled to take on the Republic Bank Nets who have made a stunning championships run to the final during this tournament. Courts Pacesetters will also take on Colts in the third division final which will serve as the curtain raiser for the event.The tournament finals were originally slated to take place last Sunday at the Burnham outdoor basketball court, but it had to be postponed due to the inclement weather.
Colts coach Vijai Panday, who is also one of the tournament’s organisers told Stabroek Sport that it was unfortunate that the tournament could not have been concluded last weekend at the Burnham Basketball Court due to the rain. Panday said that the main purpose of staging the tournament at the Burnham Court was because it was the home court of Phillip George and the Bounty Colts for several years.
However, Panday said that he was extremely thankful for the many basketball fans who came out over the last month at the Burnham Court to support the first ever memorial event for a coach who he said contributed volumes to basketball in Guyana. Panday also said that the sponsors of the tournament which include, GiftlandOfficemax, the New Palm Court, Nigel Hinds Financial Services, and the Edward Beharry Group of Companies, deserve much mention and gratitude for valued investments in the event.
Panday also stated that he was grateful for the intervention of the Director of Sport Neil Kumar in granting usage of the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall at short notice.
The usage of the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall according to Panday, may have come as a blessing as the interest in the tournament has been growing as the tournament progressed. According to Panday the Sports Hall would provide adequate accommodation for fans and may also entice sports enthusiasts seeking indoor entertain during the festive season to come out and support.
Panday’s team, although they finished second in the recently concluded Pepsi Sonic tournament, were eliminated in the earlier rounds of this tournament. According to Panday, the competition level of this tournament was higher and his team was not at full strength to go deep in this tournament. Ravens defeated former Georgetown number one team Courts Pacesetters in their semi-final while Nets upset Pepsi Sonics to reach their first tournament final in several years.
