B/ball Associations to host “Bounce Back” tournament

…slated for Friday at Burnham Court

The basketball associations from Georgetown, Bartica, Berbice and Linden will host on Friday, January 27, an evening of basketball at the Burnham Court.
Dubbed “Basketball Bounce Back”, Bartica and Berbice will collide in a Under21 match-up from 18:00h (6:00 pm), while Linden and Georgetown will look to reignite their age-old rivalry in the sport.
Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) President Rawle Toney and Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) President Jermaine Slatter are the organisers of the event.
According to Slater, the idea is to highlight that basketball is making a return across the associations affiliated with the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF).
“Usually, you would see associations like Linden and Georgetown being in the spotlight, while others aren’t being recognised. Also, basketball was dormant for a while outside of Georgetown. Still, now all the associations are ready to return, we thought it was best to come together to announce a return of the game in the respective affiliates and areas,” Slater said.
Meanwhile, Toney said LABA was happy to play its part in having the game take centre stage, adding “we can only grow the game in Guyana if we work together, and Friday’s event is the start to a series of collaborative events, geared towards helping basketball develop in Guyana.”
“Of course, we will focus on developing the game in our respective areas, but it’s equally important to arrange regular competition outside of our Sub-association,” Toney said.
Berbice Amateur Basketball Association (BABA) Vice President Ojay Joseph said mostly youths play the game in the Ancient County. Joseph said BABA was grateful for the opportunity to have its youths showcase their talent against their counterparts from Bartica.
Bartica Association Vice President Dion Ferrier welcomed the chance given to youths from the Cuyuni-Mazaruni area to play outside of Region Seven.
Organisers said they planned on hosting a return leg in Linden, Berbice, and Bartica.