Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) successfully staged the opening leg of their Skills Challenge and Shootout Series in the community of Bartica from December 17th and 18th at the Community Centre Court.
This was disclosed in a release from YBG. According to the release, the Georgetown U16 Academy faced off with their Bartica Basketball Association (BBA) counterparts in a best of two series, while a three-point shooting competition and skills challenge was also conducted.
In the first matchup, the BBA prevailed 39-35. Deron Canterbury tallied 14 points and nine rebounds, while Giovanni Tracy and Jaden Joseph recorded seven points each. For the loser, Carmelo Man-Son-Hing and Marion Fiedtkou registered 10 and eight points apiece.
In the second engagement, Georgetown won 48-40. Man-Son-Hing amassed 19 points, while Matthias Arrindell registered figures of 12 points and 13 rebounds. In the Three-Point shooting and Skills Challenge Competitions, the BBA won both sections.
Tracy defeated teammate Canterbury in the Three Pointing shooting finale, before claiming the Skills Challenge title in partnership with Rhys Gelle.
The release stated, “The winners and second-place finishers in the three-point and skills challenge will advance to the semi-finals of the National Skills and Shooting Contest in February. The Challenge Series is a National individual basketball skill and shooting competition for student-athletes of secondary school age to compete while honing the fundamentals of dribbling, passing, and shooting.”
“The Challenge Series Basketball Skills and Three-Point Shooting Contest has gotten approval from the Ministry of Health National Covid 19 Taskforce and is supported by the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation”, the correspondence further stated.
The Skills Challenge and Shootout Series will resume on January 15th-16th 2022 at the New Amsterdam Community court. The next stop will be Kwakwani on January 21st and 23rd, before the Linden leg is staged on January 29th and 30th.
West Demerara will be activated on February 5th and 6th while the Georgetown regionals will commence on February 11th and 12th at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. East Coast Demerara will take centre stage on February 16th and 17th, with the overall semi-finals penciled for February 18th at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
The sponsors of the competitions are ExxonMobil, G-Boat Guyana, the National Sports Commission, and Banks DIH Limited.
