Eight clubs and 12 teams are set to battle for top honours in the second annual Colts Basketball Club’s Phillip George Memorial Championships today at the Burnham Basketball Court.
George who was 63-years-old at the time of his passing, was a former coach of the club who was responsible for establishing the careers of many junior and senior players.
The championships which will be officiated by the Guyana Basketball Officials Council will feature both a division one and three tournament running simultaneously. Eight clubs will battle for division one honours while 12 teams will contest the division three segment.
Competing in Group-A in the division one section will be Trinity Grid Holdings (TGH) Pacesetters, Pepsi Sonics, Republic Bank Nets and Panthers while Group-B will consist of the Colts, Dynas Ravens, Plaisance Guardians and Melanie Patriots.
Battling in the third division from Group-A will be TGH Pacesetters, Eagles and the University of Guyana Trojans while Group-B will comprise Buxton Heat, the Guyana Defence Force and Plaisance Guardians.
In Group-C there will be the Colts, the Republic Bank Nets and Melanie Patriots while Pepsi Sonics, West Side Jammers and the National U19 side will complete in Group-D.
The respective teams will compete in a group format, with the top four finishers from their respective divisions advancing to the semi-final stage. Both divisions will have a total of 15 games to determine the corresponding champion.
Winners of the first division will pocket $100,000 and the first place Palm Court trophy while second place will receive $50,000 and a trophy. Champions of the third division will receive $35,000 and a trophy while the runners-up will collect $15,000 and a trophy. The team adjudged to be the most disciplined will receive a trophy donated by Rasleigh George. The MVP in the first division will receive a trophy from Trophy Stall. Philomena George, daughter of the late coach will donate the MVP trophy for the third division.
Also, this year the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association has put in place two new novelty challenges for participants in the event. The first challenge will be the three-point shoot-out to determine the best long range shooter. The second contest will be the ‘skills challenge’ which will be used to determine the fastest player over the distance of the court with a basketball in his possession. Winners of the respective contests will have the bragging rights to say that they are the three- point champ and/or fastest player in Georgetown.
Sponsors of the event include the Original Palm Court, Banks DIH Limited, Agri Parts, the Hallmark Store, Chetsons, Lorenzo Alphonso, WR Rambaran Transport, Imon Communications, Trophy Stall, Charles Ramson Jr., Star Party Rental, Ronald Thorne, Hinds and Statia, Paladin Security, Giftland Officemax, Attorney-at-Law Sanjeev Datadin and Demtoco.
