Under the bright lights and soothing ambience at the 704 Sports Bar, the Rawle Toney 3×3 basketball Classic was officially launched on Friday evening.
The tournament, which started in 2019, will host its third edition, this time in conjunction with the Guyana Basketball Federation (GBF).
Set for March 18-19 at the Burnham Basketball Court, the tournament will feature 16 teams, with participation from Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia and Suriname.
Notably, the participating teams will be outfitted by local company, MVP Sports, who recently copped the National Sports Commission’s award for Corporate Sponsor of the Year 2022 in the small category.
“When I started this event in 2019, the goal was to produce a product that would attract teams from around the Caribbean,” Toney said.
Toney was at the time addressing an audience that included the media, sponsors and prospective sponsors.
The winner’s purse of G$400,000 and runner-up’s prize of G$200,000 have been sponsored by Team Mohamed’s.
The team finishing third will pocked G$100,000.
Toney said the tournament was conceptualised as an avenue to resuscitate the discipline, adding that the resulting success has morphed into a national event which is a major highlight of the sport’s calendar.
According to Toney, the tournament’s importance is unquestioned as several players have represented Guyana at the 3×3 AmeriCup Championship in the United States.
Toney further stated that he takes pride in pioneering the only senior 3×3 tournament in Guyana, noting that the success of the event could not have been realised without the unwavering support of the sponsors.
Team Mohamed’s, Hennessy, E-Net, VSH Shipping, Slingerz Entertainment, Shi-Oil and Hot Spot Bar are listed as some of the sponsors.
