The second edition of the ‘East Bank vs. the Rest’ street-ball championship will commence today at the Mocha Arcadia Basketball Tarmac at 19:00hrs.
The event will utilise an initial group stage format, with the participating 16 teams being divided into four groups of four. Group A contains Xtra Mature, Back Street Warriors, Sparta Boss, and Stabroek Ballers, while Group B is made up of Lock Ah Scene, Five-0, Ballerz Empire, and Talibans.
On the other hand, group C consists of Gold is Money, Family, Agricola, and Team Cruel, while group D comprises Red Force, Unruly, Back Circle, and Bent Street. In excess of a million dollars in cash and prizes will be awarded in total to the top four finishers.
In the opening match, Ballerz Empire will oppose the Taliban at 19:30hrs, while Red Force will battle Bent Street at 20:00hrs, and Stabroek Ballers will tackle Back Street Warriors at 20:20hrs.
In the fourth encounter, Lock Ah Scene will face off against Five-0 at 21:00hrs, with Gold is Money battling Team Cruel at 21:30hrs, and Sparta Boss taking aim at Xtra Mature at 22:00hrs. The remaining two fixtures will pit Unruly against Back Circle at 22:30hrs and Family against Agricola at 23:00hrs.
Clayton Reece, Public Relations Officer of Ballers Entertainment, the tournament coordinators, said, “The first edition had a few hiccups because of work on the tarmac last year, but we are back this year. The competition is basically East Bank Demerara teams competing against Georgetown and East Coast Demerara. The idea is to showcase the talents of East Bank and see how they compare and compete against the other teams around the country. We keep pushing this because it’s a football-based community, it’s the Christmas season, and a lot of visitors are here who have reached out and asked us to do a tournament.”
Fixtures
Ballerz Empire vs. Talibans-19:30hrs
Red Force vs. Bent Street-20:00hrs
Stabroek Ballers vs. Back Street Warriors-20:30hrs
Lock Ah Scene vs. Five-0-21:00hrs
Gold is Money vs. Team Cruel-21:30hrs
Sparta Boss vs. Xtra Mature-22:00hrs
Unruly vs. Back Circle-22:30hrs
Family vs. Agricola-23:00hrs
