The Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) season tipped off over the weekend with the Fives Challenge Series and saw Kwakwani dominate proceedings in their usual fashion. First in the U-14 category, the boys beat the Bishops’ High School 22-13 in a one-sided final with Travon Hopkinson scoring a game high 9 points to be adjudged the MVP while the Kwakwani Girls not to be outdone, demolished President’s College 17-4 in their final with Lanisha sinking 10 points in her MVP outing.
In the Boys U-16 final, Kwakwani tasted defeat, losing 12-18 to Mackenzie High. However, in the U-18 final, the Region 10 lads rebounded to beat the Bishops’ High School 22-14 with Cordell Hoyte turning in a MVP performance of eight points and four rebounds.
Kwakwani also took the Tertiary 21/Open trophy by defeating the University of Guyana Trojans in that final. In the individual challenges, Stephon George was the top 3-point shooter while Tavishti Persaud claimed the best free throw shooter. Simeon Sinclair of Kwakwani finished ahead of Jamal Semple (Linden Technical Institute) in the Combined Skills competition. The skills segment combined 3 point shooting, free throw and skills. The Challenge Series provided a platform for the various participants to evaluate their competitive level ahead of the respective regional championships which are slated to commence next month. This year’s Challenge Series boasted 50 teams drawn from 22 schools from across regions 3, 4, 6, 7 and 10 with Bishops’ High Secondary entering 9 teams while Kwakwani Secondary fielded seven teams. The regional championships are set to bounce off on March 15 around the country.
