GABA postpones Andrew Ifill Knockout Basketball Tourney

Coronavirus outbreak…

The Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) was set to commence the Andrew Ifill Knockout Tournament this Sunday with matches in the Open and U21 categories.

However, following announcement of the country’s first case of the COVID-19 virus, the GABA have decided to postpone the start of the tournament to a date to be announced later.
President of the GABA, Jermaine Slater, revealed in a statement that postponement of the tournament, which would’ve bounced off on Sunday, was agreed upon after the GABA’s affiliated players/clubs had reached out in concern, especially after President David Granger, in an address to the nation on Wednesday, had called for public gatherings to be discouraged.
“Despite only having one known case, the GABA is as strong as our members (clubs, players and officials), and as such, we are here to make our playing environment one where persons are comfortable and safe,” Salter highlighted.
The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Second Lieutenant, who was elected to the helm of the GABA in January, noted that the GABA will “keep an ear to the ground and wait for a word on the country’s medical minds on when it will be best-suited to host the Andrew Ifill Knockout Tournament and other planned tournaments. Sportsmen and women, especially those involved in contact sports, are at high risk of being contaminated, and as such, the GABA would like to issue a call to all involved in the sport of basketball locally, even if you play just for fun or to keep fit, to take the necessary precautions being advertised by the World Health Organisation, especially to safeguard yourself and family.”
The Andrew Ifill Knockout Tournament will celebrate the life of the late Andrew Ifill, a former national player who passed away last October at age 40.
The tournament will be contested in the Open and Under-21 divisions, as Slater explained that the new GABA administration “has moved to exclude Second Division from our tenure to try and have more basketball played at the Open level, which would give more persons a chance to actually play the game. A lot of teams have a lot of players, and sometimes these players don’t get to see court.”
The participating teams are Eagles, Colts, Sonics, UG-A and UG-B. They will contest the U21 category, while Guardians, Colts, UG-A, Vikings, Sonics, Pacesetters A and B, Eagles, Kobras and Ravens are down to play in the Open division.