Following a meeting between Guyana’s President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, and Masai Ujiri, Vice Chairman of the 2019 NBA Champions, the Toronto Raptors, it was announced yesterday that the Canadian franchise will conduct a local talent combine, tentatively pencilled for October 18-19.
The revelation was made at a basketball stakeholders forum held at the National Culture Centre, Mandela Avenue, which was facilitated by a high-level team of officials from the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport, along with the National Sports Commission’s (NSC) Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle and a number of officials from the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) and Guyana Basketball Federation (GBF).
While it has not been confirmed where the combine will be conducted, it was revealed that coaching and management of the sport will also be on the agenda of the visiting Raptors delegation. It was also disclosed that the focus of the clinic will be on the younger players.
The facilitators, led by Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., also fielded questions from attendees at the forum relating to the finer details and logistics of the upcoming second edition of the ‘One Guyana’ Basketball League.
The league, which was initially slated to commence in August, is set to begin in November. However, the logistics of the event are yet to be ironed out, as in excess of 20 teams from various regions and environs are slated to compete in the competition.
Of those 20 odd teams, a whopping 17 teams from Georgetown will take part. Additionally, teams from Linden, Bartica, and Regions #2, #7, and #9 are also expected to participate. The format of the league is also yet to be sorted out, but the idea of a double-round format is being toyed with.
It was also revealed that the incorporation of a female component of the league is also being explored. This component, once employed, will feature at the latter stages of the league and will compete in a mini-tournament as a means to provide exposure. The discussions also centred on the clubs adopting schools in the future as a mechanism to grow the sport.
