By Rawle Toney
The 5th Annual Victory Valley Royals Basketball Tournament will officially bounce off today in Linden at the MacKenzie Sports Club hard court and the tournament’s defending champions, MacKenzie High School (MHS) is making it clear that they’re serious about winning again.

The school first took a hold of the trophy in 2006, then in 2007 they finished third after being beaten in the semi-finals by the Linden Technical Institute. But in 2008 they resurged to win the tournament in emphatic fashion and according to their coach Quincy Cummings, they are looking to do the same this year.

Over the past year the school has put a lock on the sport of basketball in Linden, winning every tournament they have entered so far. They are also blessed with having one of Guyana’s top junior players in Akeem Kanhai, who was the driving force behind their success.

But coach Cummings said that while Kanhai has indeed been their wrecking machine, some new faces have stepped onto the scene. He said players such as  Parish Codogan, Sheldran Noel and Shane Murray among others can make the difference on any given day.

Today they are down to face New Silver City Secondary, the same school they defeated in 2006 to win their first title, but Cummings  said that they will be taking one game at a time.

Should MHS make a repeat of last year’s performance, they will have for keeps the Wayne “Buturu” Bryan lien trophy.