Schools’ Basketball Festival launched at CASH

Jun 23, 2010 Sports

The National Schools’ Basketball Festival (NSBF) was yesterday launched at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) with Coordinator of the event, Chris Bowman, calling it the “benchmark” of youth and basketball development in 83,000 square miles, Guyana.

ZONING IN!!! Banks DIH Communications Manager, Troy Peters (second, right) makes a point as, from left, Street Solutions’ Rayad Boyce, Director of Sports Neil Kumar, Chris Bowman and Digicel’s Public Relations and Events Manager, Shonnet Moore zone in.

“The National Schools’ Basketball Festival is a national championship for the country’s top secondary and tertiary school teams in basketball; the event has become the benchmark for youth basketball in Guyana,” Bowman said in his presentation.

He indicated that the competition is the platform for selection on the Inter-Guiana Games’ (IGG) basketball team. Bowman said that has been the norm over the years with 32 teams playing in the “intense double elimination” games at this year’s edition.

According to the event’s Coordinator, as opposed to previous years, the double elimination is to ensure that the best teams qualify for the knockout round. The initial round will be a round-robin with the teams being promoted through their win/loss ratio.

“It is going to be the most competitive field we have ever had in the tournament,” Bowman said, before revealing the fixtures that had three divisions: Under-16, Under-18 and Open. The contest is expected to commence next Sunday at the Sports Hall.

He thinks that the tournament demands high standards from its level of organisation and benefits from key stakeholder collaboration. Bowman applauded the National Sports Commission and the Ministry of Education’s Allied Arts Department for their efforts.

“We would like to thank the Ministry of Education, who has played a greater role this year. Our sponsors also deserve a lot of credit for recognising the importance and the benefits of investing in positive school and youth activities,” he observed.

Digicel’s Public Relations and Events Manager, Shonnet Moore, Street Solutions’, Rayad Boyce, Banks DIH Communications Manager, Troy Peters and Director of Sport, Neil Kumar shared the head table at yesterday’s press conference with Bowman.