By Daniel Haynes

THE replay of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Association’s (GABF) ‘Road to Mecca 3’ final is scheduled to tip off today at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH).Linden Retrieve Raiders will face off against the Georgetown Bounty Colts. The game will be officiated by the trio of two FIBA-certified Barbadian referees, Rene Batson and Ms Jennifer Joseph-Hackett, and Guyanese FIBA-certified referee Sherwin Joseph.
Ahead of the encounter, GABF president stated, “The presence of international referees was a condition for Colts’ participation … the international referees will certainly be a boost to the officiating team.” He went on to say that the GABF believes that the game will be a competitive one and that fans will finally be able to get a conclusion to the long overdue final.
“We did not see an abortion in the interest of Guyana’s basketball and we reprimanded the clubs and players who contributed to the uproar on the advice of FIBA referees,” Hinds also stated.
Colts manager Michael Singh told the Chronicle Sport in an exclusive comment “We are ready for this game and we will continue to play in the disciplined manner that we always play.” He continued by adding that the introduction of new referees will not change the game plan of the Georgetown side.
The game in question finished prematurely on March 19, due to a series of controversial calls by the referees.. At the time of the stoppage, nine minutes remained in the fourth quarter and the score stood at 54-51 in favour of Colts.
Opening tip tonight will be at 19:00hrs with Plaisance Guardians taking on Pepsi Sonics in a supporting game with the heavily anticipated rematch scheduled thereafter.