DEMERARA Distillers Limited (DDL) under its Pepsi soft drink brand yesterday injected $1M into the account of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) towards the completion of the present First Division League and the Street Series Playoffs. All remaining matches in the league will be played outdoors at the Burnham Basketball Court which is undergoing several phases of rehabilitation by the GABA.
President of the GABA, Trevor Rose, explained that the Street Series Playoffs will see the top four finishers of the league face each other in the lucrative best-of-three formatted series.
Upon taking office, Rose explained that the clubs were told of the GABA’s financial deficit which he described of being ‘in the red’ but made it clear that should a major sponsor come along, money will be added to the silverware.
“I personally want to thank DDL and Pepsi for their timely input into the sport. This I say because it couldn’t have come at a better time. Before now the clubs were playing basically the league I should say, for just basically sweat and the love of the game, but now we would be able to award them financially,” Rose said.
How much money will be given to the winner of the league, as well as for the ‘Street Series Playoff’ was not made known, with Rose stating that “we (GABA) will have to sit and work that out but we are glad that we have money in hand to make it happen and we must again thank DDL”
Alexis Crawford, Pepsi brand manager, upon announcing their alliance with the GABA, stated that “DDL and Pepsi are always ready to support any activity which will positively channel the energies of young Guyanese people and there was no hesitation on our part to come on board”.
In wishing the GABA a successful tournament, Crawford added that as a company, “we expect basketball to be played in the Pepsi spirit and to be highly competitive and in so doing, develop the young sportsmen and women of Guyana, as well as the level of the sport. We also wish to encourage patrons of the game to support our talented athletes in like manner”.