The 3rd Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) Road to Mecca III National Basketball Club Championships will bounce off today at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Homestretch Avenue.
The event which is slated to run from March 4th-19th at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, will feature 16 teams from the Linden, Berbice and Georgetown Amateur Basketball Associations.
The top eight finishers from the previous edition were automatically selected, while the other eighth clubs were selected based on their respective association level performances.
Thus, the lower ranked eighth teams will compete in the opening round against the top ranked sides in the traditional knockout format.
Defending champ and number one ranked unit Pacesetters will lead the Georgetown contingent which features Colts (2nd), 2014 winner Ravens (5th), Plaisance Guardians (7th), University of Guyana (UG) Trojans (10th) and Republic Bank Nets (11th).
On the other hand, Retrieve Raiders (3rd) is the highest ranked unit coming out of the mining town of Linden which also features Victory Valley Royals (4th), Half Mile Bulls (6th), Amelia’s Ward Jets (9th), Bankers Trust Falcons (14th) and Block 22 Flames (15th).
Meanwhile, the Berbice contingent will consist of Smithfield Rockers (12th) and New Amsterdam Warriors (13th).
In the opening fixture at 19:00hrs, last year’s defeated finalist and Georgetown unit, Colts will open their campaign against Linden unit Block 22 Flames.
The feature contest of the night will be a battle for the mining town when Half Mile Bulls lock horns with Amelia’s Ward Jets from 21:00hrs. On Saturday the event will resume at the same locale with three fixtures.
At 17:00hrs, Republic Bank Nets will oppose Plaisance Guardians while Berbice representative New Amsterdam Warriors will match skills with Retrieve Raiders of Linden at 19:00hrs.
In the final fixture of the evening, the University of Guyana (UG) Trojans will lock horns with Pepsi Sonics at 21:00hrs.
On Sunday at the same locale, Victory Valley Royals of Linden will oppose Smithfield Rockers of Berbice at 17:00hrs in the first of the tripleheader.
The second matchup will pit holders Pacesetters against Eagles from 19:00hrs while inaugural champ Ravens will tackle Falcons at 21:00hrs in the feature affair.
Upon the completion of the round of 16 stage, the quarterfinal section will commence on March 11th, with the semi-final and grand finale slated for March 13th and 19th respectively.
Winner of the championship will pocket $$500,000 and the championship trophy while the second, third and fourth-placed sides will receive $250,000; $150,000 and $100,000 respectively and the corresponding accolade.
On the individual side, prizes will be awarded to the event’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament and finals.
