By Rawle Toney
For the next two nights commencing from tonight, all roads will be leading to the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), where the hosting of the sixth annual Supligen All-Star Weekend will take place with the usual Linden/Georgetown rivalry.
At yesterday’s press conference the organizers, Wild Fire Productions, have stated that both teams are well prepared and as such, spectators can expect nothing but high quality basketball on both nights.
Meanwhile unlike previous years, Banks DIH under their Sprite brand will be playing a major roll in this year’s tournament. The company yesterday through their Public Relations Officer Troy Peters presented a cheque of an undisclosed amount to the organizers.
According to Peters, Sprite has always been associated with basketball even in the National Basketball Association (NBA) where they are sponsors of the Sprite Slam Dunk Competition and as such, they are just as enthused to be a part of the local event since it gives players a chance to be more than just players.
He went on to state that they are looking forward to working closely with the Wild Fire Production Group whom they have worked with on other ventures to make it a major success.
Tonight the “staff party for basketball” as it is dubbed, will start with the traditional seniors three point shoot out and slam dunk competitions, followed by the Junior All-Star Game.
- READY TO DO BATTLE! From left: Miguel Williams of Trinidad and Tobago, Vijay Panday (Wild Fire Production), Troy Peters PRO Banks DIH, Jermaine Softleigh (Wild Fire Production),Trinidadian Steven “Lighter” Lewis and Warren Williams(Wild Fire Production).(An Aubrey Crawford photograph)
Defending seniors slam dunk champion Trinidadian Steven “Lighter” Lewis has arrived in Guyana to once again put on another spectacular show since in his last two outings, he thrilled the thousands in attendance with his high flying manoeuvers.
Speaking to Stabroek Sports yesterday, Lewis said that he is looking forward to the challenge since it brings out the best in him. He stated that spectators can expect nothing but the best from him and he was high in praise for organizers who brought him back to Guyana to defend his title.
Meanwhile in the seniors three point shoot out, defending champion Stephon Gillis of the Courts Pacesetters can expect a strong challenge from a field of some 13 other competitors.
Gillis, a normal sharp shooter for his club has been hard in training for the defence of his title and has assured all that he will walk off the court with same once again.
The evening will culminate with the excited Junior All-Star Game which will see the country’s best young talents from the mining town and the capital city going at each other.
Georgetown are the defending champions for the event, having held the title since the organizers sought to introduce the Linden/Georgetown rivalry at the junior level three years ago.
In debt, the Georgetown side is much more superior with national junior point guards Travis Brunette and John Fraser leading the charges in the back court, while national center Jermaine Slater will stand firm in middle.
The Linden side however cannot be ruled out just yet, since they also have at their disposal, one of the most talented junior players in the country in Akeem Khani, who has been creating waves in the local basketball arena.
Khani, a utility player on the court along with sharp shooters Orin Rose and Chris Williams will be aiming to take the trophy back to the mining town for the first time at this level.
Teams for tonight’s feature game are; Linden from: Akeem Khani, Orin Rose, Javon Nelson, Chris Williams, Stravin Etienne, Dane Russell, Mark Rose, Travis Leach, Seon Cameron and Harold Adams. Claude Williams is the coach Georgetown from: Tyrone Hamid, Kevin Levans, Jermaine Slater, Binium Norton, Travis Burnett, John Fraser, Jaime Mayers, Keshon Robes, Jermaine Reid and Michael Thompson. Mark Agard will be performing the duty as Coach.
Apart from the game, spectators will have a chance to win as much as $100,000 if they score a shot from half-court. There will also be the quick bucks shoot for cash where they will shoot from strategic points on the court which will be marked with various amount of cash.
The first whistle will be blown at 1900hrs (7:00pm) sharp and the organizers are asking patrons to make their way early, since there will be tight security and a thorough check will be done before entrance is given to the CASH, as they seek to make the All-star weekend an incident free one.
