“One Guyana” Basketball Premier League set for August 12
Organizers of the event, along with some of the teams
The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport launched the “One Guyana” Basketball Premier League on Friday at the National Gymnasium.
This league will be run from August 12, 2023 to March 12, 2024. There will be two breaks, and the games will be live-streamed on the Web page of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.
President of the Guyana Basketball Association, Jermaine Slater, expounding on the all-round benefits this league will have, has said, “This league will serve as a stepping stone for young players who dream of reaching the professional stage. It will provide for all players to increase sports hours, increase their craft so that they can be efficient. For coaches, it will provide a better, clear understanding of the game. In the future, it will help them gain experience at an extended team level. And for the fans, this will improve the level of play and (provide) better entertainment.”
The tournament will see 14 teams being divided into two conferences, The Harpy League and The Jaguar, with a projected 56 games to 63 games.
The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport has emphasized that profits made would be invested in the sport. “All the money that is intended to be made at the event, cause we are making the facility a lot more inviting, a lot more compelling and comfortable for fans, spectators, family, friends or supporters, so that when they come to the event, the association has the opportunity to make some money so that they can plow it back and reinvest into the sport.”
The team winning the tournament would receive $1M along with trophies, while the runner-up team would receive $500,000 plus trophies.
