Team Mohamed’s to provide prize money, trophies for Rawle Toney 3×3 Classic
Behind its principal, Azruddin Mohamed, Team Mohamed’s will be one of the biggest sponsors of this year’s Rawle Toney 3×3 Classic, set for March 18-19 at the Burnham Basketball Court in Georgetown.
Mohamed met with tournament organiser Rawle Toney and tournament coordinator Jermaine Slater, to whom he presented the first-place purse of $400,000 and second-place purse of $200,000. He is also sponsoring all the accompanying trophies for the tournament, bringing his contribution to $675,000.
“This is huge!” Toney exclaimed. “I’m beyond grateful for Team Mohamed’s contribution to the tournament this year. Last year they were instrumental in ensuring that a lot of areas were covered; and this year, I think it’s safe to say that they’ve (given) the lion’s share of prizes.
“This year, we’re going to see a wider pool of participation from teams in the Caribbean, and that has always been the goal since I started the tournament in 2019. I’m happy that Team Mohamed’s understands the vision for the 3×3 Classic, and is helping in a major way to ensure that it is realised, Toney has said.
Meanwhile, Azruddin Mohamed has said he’s happy to again be part of the tournament, and has pledged Team Mohamed’s continued support to it. He added that Team Mohamed’s is also ready to help create a Regional 3×3 Tournament, pointing out that it would drive great interest in the 3×3 format in Guyana and the Caribbean.
Looking ahead, Toney has said there are still other critical areas in which corporate Guyana can contribute to help the tournament to become successful. So far, he has said, response from the corporate community has been tremendous, “but the plan is to build a partnership, because of what we intend to do with the tournament in the coming years. This year we have four teams from the Caribbean, and we will see these numbers growing as the tournament continues to develop,” Toney has said.
The 16-team tournament will be a club competition, with teams coming from Linden, Bartica, Berbice and Georgetown. Toney added that several teams from the Caribbean have signalled their interest in participating, which he said would help to boost the competitiveness of the tournament.
Last year, a team comprising Harold Adams, Stanton Rose and Shelroy Thomas took home the championship trophy, championship ring and other prizes. Thomas was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, and Adams, Rose and Thomas represented Guyana at the Islamic Games in Istanbul, Turkey and the FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup in Miami, Florida.