Pitbulls paw Mackeson $1M cash prize

Oct 20, 2012 Sports

The Pitbulls laid their paws officially yesterday on the $1M first place cash prize that was up for grabs in the Mackeson Smooth Moves 3-on-3 Basketball Competition, after winning the contest last Saturday at California Square, East Ruimveldt.
The Ryan Gullen, Ryan Stephney, Jermaine Slater and Akeem ‘The Dream’ Kanhai combination fearlessly battled against the tough Pacesetters ‘A’ team in the semi-final, before they won 12-11 in the final five seconds after Gullen finished a lob from Stephney.
The result was shocking for Pacesetters after Colts drew a ‘bye’ to the final. Shelroy Thomas and veteran forward, Dane Kendall, Stephon ‘Penny’ Henry and Tyrone Hamid of the Colts finished runners-up after a fairytale journey to the final. The inaugural champions, Pacesetters finished in the third position.

Ansa McAl Marketing Director, Troy Cadogan (left) hands over the $1M replica cheque to the captain of the winning Mackeson Smooth Moves 3-on-3 Basketball Team, Ryan Stephney, in the presence of his team-mates yesterday.

The final was an all-Georgetown affair, after six teams had advanced to the final round, including one from Linden and one from New Amsterdam. The Mackeson Smooth Moves tournament was held countrywide over several weeks of intense competition.
Marketing Director of the Ansa McAl Trading Limited, Troy Cadogan, tamed the savage Pitbulls yesterday at Ansa Mcal Head Offices, Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara when he officially handed over the $1M winner-take-all first place prize to the team.
The competition attracted participation from teams in Berbice, Mahaicony, Linden, Georgetown and Den Amstel. All the zone winners also received cash incentives. Cadogan said that the event was a success and next year will be even bigger as it expands.
He noted the unique format of the competition is gaining momentum, expressing disappointment that it had not attracted much of the mainstream basketball players. However, the competition attracted quartets from most of the Division I Clubs in Guyana.