TWELVE teams, at three venues namely Burnham Court, National Gymnasium and Plaisance Basketball Court, will play four weeks of basketball as the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) searches for the ‘King of the Hard Court’, starting tonight at the Burnham Basketball Court in Middle Street. 

The event which was launched yesterday by the recently installed GABA would be the first of three tournaments planned for the year and according to president Junior Hercules, the ‘King of Hard Court’ is the start of a new chapter and sets a primacy on how basketball will be played under his Association.
From 18:00hrs tonight, Knights and Colts will clash in the first game which is an Under-23 fixture, while national champions Pacesetters collide with Melanie Patriots in the second fixture.
Matches will be played every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with the 12 participating teams being Ravens, University of Guyana, Plaisance Guardians, Eagles, Sonics, Nets and a team representing the ‘West Side’ (West Demerara), along with those listed to compete tonight.
Hercules pointed out that unlike previous tournaments, the teams will not be placed in groups, but rather face each other in a round-robin format and the team to accumulate the most points at the end of the 51-game championship, will be adjudged the winner.
For each win, teams will be rewarded three points; one point for a defeat but will not be given any (points) for matches forfeited.
Sponsored by Ansa McAl under their Mackeson brand, Giftland OfficeMax and Starr Computers, the tournament will not be played for monetary gains but the winning club will receive equipment and other prizes.
“Most of the tournaments are played both outdoors and indoors and we thought that we were never really given the opportunity to crown a ‘Hard Court’ champion, so GABA felt that it was important to have that so the club can claim the right to be called ‘Hard Court’ Champion”, Hercules told the Media at yesterday’s launch in the boardroom of Starr Computers.
He added that “the tournament is a precursor to what we (GABA) hope to have in August which is our annual league”.
The new format, according to Hercules, will allow the GABA to seed the teams prior to the League and also put in perspective which club is First or Second Division.
Meanwhile, with the country preparing for its May 11 Regional and General Elections, the GABA teamed up with the Guyana National Youth Council (GNYC) to help in its ‘Vote Like A Boss’ campaign, targeting young and first-time voters, educating them on what is expected at polling stations on ‘E-Day’.