Two Region 10 teams battled in the final of the second Rawle Toney 3×3 Basketball Classic and it was Linden who edged Royals 8-7 to win the Andrew Ifill Championship trophy and G$500,000 when the two-day event concluded at the Burnham Basketball Court on Sunday evening.
The icing on the cake was the quartet of Daniel Omondi, Stanton Rose, Harold Adams and Most Valuable Player, Shelroy Thomas also receiving branded championship gold rings, compliments of Jacobs Jewellery and Pawnshop.
Royals, whose team comprised Orlan Glasglow, Marlon Pollydore, Yonnick Tappin and Joel Webster, won the second-place prize of G$100,000, compliments of E-Networks.
Meanwhile, Rose, who also captains the National team, said it was “sweet joy” to win after the hard work, and they were proud of the accomplishment, given the sacrifices. Rose, a college player in the United States, delayed returning to compete in the competition.
Despite the NBA All-Stars was ongoing, many fans stayed on to watch the locals compete, and every three-point shot sunk had huge cheers.
Speaking on the sidelines, many were happy to see the return of basketball and more so at the grassroot level.
In the semi-finals, Royals had toppled 2019 champions Pitbulls 7-5, while Linden got the better of Guardians 15-12.
Sixteen teams, including from Martinique, Suriname and New York, competed in the FIBA sanctioned event.
