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Mega Mecca III in the making
By Edison Jefford
Guyana’s signature basketball competition, The Road to Mecca III, will have special significance this
Nigel Hinds
year given that it will be held when Guyana is celebrating its Golden Jubilee of Independence: 50 years of freedom from British hegemony.
This historic occasion should be enough to galvanise the 16 clubs that will be invited to play, and their communities, to trek to the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall nightly in pursuit of an opportunity to be listed in the annals of history.
There is no doubt that every club will want to be recorded as the team that won Guyana’s National Club Championship in its Jubilee year. The Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) has worked hard over the last two years to resuscitate basketball.
The flagship Mecca I and Mecca II were consistent competitions and provided Guyana with what can be called ‘true champions’ with Ravens winning the nation-wide contest in 2014 when it was first held, and Pacesetters winning the second edition last year.
The Road to Mecca set the standard for all aspiring basketball players and clubs, given that it was the main catalyst for selection on Guyana’s Senior National Basketball Team, which competed at the Caribbean Championships in 2014 and 2015 in the British Virgin Islands– a feature that was a significant accomplishment for the national federation under new leadership.
It is against that background that Mecca III is being mulled as a mega Championship with a mega budget that has lots of scope for sponsorship. Kaieteur Sport understands that the competition will be launched soon, and as a result, the federation is mum on the details.
However, basic information emanating from the organisers of Guyana’s biggest basketball contest suggested that the top eight teams from last year’s competition, which includes four Georgetown and four Linden teams, are automatic qualifiers. 
In addition, another eight teams will make up the 16 clubs, including two teams from Berbice and six other wild card entrants. This is the structure that GABF President, Nigel Hinds indicated that the federation will use for the upcoming Road to Mecca III.
What is certain is that the effort of the federation has ricocheted into effective sub-associations in Linden, Georgetown and Berbice. Basketball has been very active over the last year in the regions and that enhances the expectations of keen national competition.
Just as Plaisance Guardians ensured that the Plaisance, East Coast Demerara community formed part of their main support base and Colts the Central Georgetown community formed theirs last weekend during the Georgetown League finals, every team will be expected to galvanise their base to support them in the tournament.
Players will be encouraged to invite their families and teams from their respective communities to help continue the momentum that started two years ago. Linden is exemplary in that regard. The point is that all must be involved and all consumed to make The Road to Mecca III: Guyana’s National Basketball Club Championships – The Jubilee Edition, the biggest one to-date.
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