With women’s basketball seemingly abandoned by the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF), one National player decided to host a two-day 3X3 basketball tournament at the National Gymnasium, featuring teams from Berbice, Linden and Georgetown.
The tournament kicks off today (October 1) from 16:00 hours and concludes on Sunday (October 2).
Lowquantor Gibson, who represented Guyana at two Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championships, said that she felt that women’s participation in the sport will die if nothing is being done, and since the sport’s governing body has failed to show that they are still interested, she brainstormed the 3X3 tournament.
Gibson explained that the 3X3 format will give more women a chance to play, given the fact it only consists of four players per team.
Initially, she said that with the help of some senior officers of the Guyana Police Force where she’s employed, the event had no sponsors, but players decided that regardless of support, they will participate.
The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), Latoya Sue, Dianne Allicock, and Priya Singh have since joined the Guyana Police Force as the other sponsors, and, recently, Sports Journalist Rawle Toney and Ashaka King, Proprietor of Piece and Things were added to the list.
According to Toney, “it’s a shame that there’s no proper plan to help women’s basketball in Guyana at the senior level, but the fact that the women aren’t waiting around for something to happen says a lot. So, I reached out to Ashaka and asked that she helped and without hesitation, she jumped on board”.
He added that Gibson seemed unbothered if she received sponsorship or not “but she was more than grateful for the support. I think that we can’t wait around for those in charge to act, so it’s always good to reach out and help those who are showing interest and are proactive”.
King pointed out that the idea “is to encourage women participation in sport and to allow them to do something that they’re passionate about. Piece and Things is willing to support any venture that helps to empower women, especially in sports”.
At a simple presentation at Piece and Things (located on North Road between Camp and Willington streets) where a trophy and an undisclosed sum was handed over to Gibson, the national point guard said that she’s overwhelmed by the support shown since posting the flyer on Facebook and thanked both Toney and King for the sponsorship.
