Latest update April 7th, 2025 12:08 AM
Kings win first ever 4 x 4 Mixed U-18 Basketball Championship as Carmelo Man-Son-Hing is MVP of final
Kaieteur Sports – Carmelo Man-Son-Hung played excellent basketball as he led the Kings to the first ever 4 x 4 Mixed Under-18 title on Christmas night when they stopped Amelia’s Ward jets 7-2 in final which was played at the Community Hard Court in Retrieve, Linden.
MVP Man-son-Hing gets sneakers from US-based Linden Alphonso as another former US based coach Gary Stephens is at right.
Winners Kings players are flanked by Gary Stephens at left and Linden Alphonso at right.
Man-Son-Hing was the spearhead of Kings as they swept all comers before them on the way to this crown. Each club was required to have a female player on court throughout the tournament.
Former National Women’s Coach, Linden Alphonso, who was at the helm when Guyana won its first Caribbean Basketball Championship (CBC) Women’s title in 1996 in the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, was present.
He returned from his United States base to witness the championship as he donated the MVP sneakers won by Man-Son-Hing, along with the winning trophy and replicas on offer for the winners.
Going for a basket Kings player shoots as opponents look on.
The runner-up team Amelia’s Ward Jets collected their medals as other prizes were also given to the third place winners also.
To reach the final, Kings A won from Retrieve Raiders when they played in the quarterfinal and took care of Block 22 Flames B in their semifinal match.
Jets en-route to the semifinal, where they advanced via a walkover, had to get past Block 22 A in their quarterfinal encounter.
On the night, all teams were presented with a basketball for participating in this tournament and those were D-Up from West Demerara, Kings, Block 22 Flames, Victory Valley Royals and Retrieve Raiders.
United States-based promoter Gary Stephens, himself a former coach of the Kings Basketball Club, also showed appreciation to former outstanding football coach James McLean and National athletics coach Johnny Gravesande.
McLean, the veteran football coach, was responsible for the rise to glory of Topp XX FC back in the early 1990s to be Senior National Champions, while the majority of those players were playing at the Junior National level, and produced then, several senior players for national duties.
Current national athletics Coach Johnny Gravesande has coached several athletes across Guyana, and was part of the District 10 (Upper Demerara/ Kwakwani) team which successfully defended its title at the National Schools Track and Field, Cycling and Swimming Championships recently.
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