Slingerz Royals make impressive debut against Kings

Sep 29, 2008 Sports

–as club launches in New Amsterdam By Edison Jefford
The face of local basketball currently comprises of organs from Linden and Georgetown but that could positively change in the near future with the emergence of the Slingerz Royals Basketball Club in New Amsterdam.

The Ancient County have long yearned for a competitive first division basketball club and the Slingerz team was no less than that when they took on Kashif and Shanghai Kings Saturday night in Berbice.

The event was organised as part of the festivities to launch the new club that eventually made a fitting debut against Linden’s leading team. It took overtime for Kings to beat Royals 58–56 after a 52–point deadlock in regular time at the New Amsterdam Municipality Basketball Court.

National forward Marvin Hartman scored 16 points for Kings while Omally Sampson helped with 14 points. Theopholous Bess and last year’s President’s XII selectee, Carlos Crandon both scored 12 points for Royals.
President and Coach of the Slingerz Entertainment Group–sponsored team, Gladwin Albert told Kaieteur Sport that he was thoroughly impressed with the competitiveness of the team in its first major outing. “I am impressed because they were very competitive for the short time we have been in existence before the game,” Albert stated.

At the initial formation of the team, Slingerz had committed $100,000 towards uniforms and other gear. Disc Jockey (DJ) Gringo had said that the investment would go a far way toward the development of the sport in County.

Asked what some of those developmental plans are, Albert indicated that the court needs an urgent upgrade. He made no mistake to connect the expected growth of the team to the best facility in New Amsterdam.
Kaieteur Sport visited the event Saturday night and it became clear that the scope is there for the development of the municipality court so that it can become one of the best outdoor facilities available in Guyana.

“We have to get ourselves more organised; we are a team but we don’t have enough ground works to have a firm base,” Albert theorised, adding that transportation of players from the West Coast of Berbice is another hurdle.

But despite the challenges, Royals’ management has the will, along with the backing of one of the leading Entertainment groups, to immortalise a sport that was literally dead in the town until Royals’ arrival.

“We are going to be very strong. We have some time to prepare now and our players are very committed. We will be a real threat,” Albert warned.

The ‘friendly’ nature of the game against Kings somewhat discredited to stern challenge Royals posed but the anticipation of the new season means that there is a team in an ancient town that wants to make a mark.

Royals will have that opportunity soon; they have proven (to an extent) that they can be in the reckoning with Georgetown’s number one club, Courts Pacesetters and Linden’s Kings in the national scheme of the sport.