A mammoth crowd is expected to descend on the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue this evening when the inaugural ‘Rio Indoor Streetball Championship’ officially starts with the group stage play from 19:00hrs.

According to an official release from tournament coordinator, Three Peat Promotions, “The excitement and buzz is certainly in the air for this inaugural tournament. This is the first time in local history that an indoor community/street ball championship will be played for $1,000,000 first prize.

It is well deserved for the players who have built this format from its initial humble beginnings and deserved recognition for creating a viable format and alternative of the traditional game.”

 The release further said, “The tournament is expected to be fiercely competitive and very exciting for both fans and players. We are expecting a huge turnout and support throughout the event as they will be prizes to be won by several spectators each night, which will certainly add to the spectacle that will unfold.

 We encourage all teams to be punctual for their respective matches and to help keep the tournament, along with their fan base incident free.”

The historic event will commence with Alexander Village battling Kingston from 19:00hrs, with Spot-7 taking on Buxton Diamond at 19:30hrs and Back Circle tackling Rio All-Stars from 20:00hrs.

The fourth engagement will pit LA Ballers against Beterverwagting [BV] from 20:30hrs, with Leopold Street battling Uprising at 21:30hrs in the fifth affair. In the final two matches, Tiger Bay lock horns with Broad Street at 21:30hrs and Sparta Boss faces off with Melanie from 22:00hrs.

The second night of the event will then occur on Saturday at the same venue. The round-robin competition, which lasts for the duration of eight nights, will conclude with the grand finale on December 14th.

The other playing nights are November 21st, 23rd, 28th, 30th and December 7th. With the $1,000,000 slated for the eventual winner, the second, third and fourth place finishers will pocket $400,000, $200,000 and $100,000 respectively and the corresponding accolade.

Group-A comprises Back Circle, Buxton Diamond, Spot-7 and Rio All-Stars, while group-B contains Leopold Street, Tiger Bay, Uprising and Broad Street, Group-C features Sparta Boss, Alexander Village, Kingston and Melanie.

Group-D consists of LA Ballers, Bent Street, BV and Avocado Ballers, while group-E Future Stars is made up of Future Stars, Albouystown-A, Showstoppers, Stabroek Ballers. Group-F involves Gold is Money, Sophia, Silver Bullets and Island All-Stars.

At the end of the group round, the top two finishers from each section and the best four third place teams will advance to the knockout round.

Day-1-Thursday November 14th

Alexander vs Kingston-19:00hrs
Spot-7 vs Buxton Diamond-19:30hrs
Back Circle vs Rio All-Stars-20:00hrs
LA Ballers vs BV-20:30hrs
Leopold Street vs Uprising-21:00hrs
Tiger Bay vs Broad Street-21:30hrs
Sparta vs Melanie-22:00hrs

 Day-2-Saturday November 16th

Sophia vs Island All-Stars-19:00hrs
Alexander vs Melanie-19:30hrs
Albouystown-A vs Showstoppers-20:00hrs
Future Stars vs Stabroek Ballers-20:30hrs
Leopold Street vs Broad Street-21:00hrs
Gold is Money vs Silver Bullets-21:30hrs
Kingston vs Sparta-22:00hrs