SPORTS
Newsday reporter
BASKETBALL FIESTA will host its fourth edition of the annual basketball tournament themed “Where Culture Meets Basketball” from August 18-21 at the Woodbrook Youth Facility.
A total of 42 teams will participate during these four days. While the Fiesta was originally scheduled for July 15 to 17, there was a change in date due to the lack of an available facility to host the Fiesta.
According to Fiesta director Garvin Warwick, “We are excited to bring this event to a close and come back from a two-year hiatus due to Covid19. Clubs, coaches, players and fans are all extremely excited about the resumption of Basketball Fiesta. As a committee, we are also extremely excited to resume our activities after this two-year gap.”
There will be action in nine categories – U-10, U-12, U-14 Boys, U-14 Girls, U-16 Boys, U-16 Girls, U-18 Boys, U-18 Girls and U-20 Boys . The level of basketball is expected to be very high quality, as the commission has the services of qualified referees and table officials on the days of supervision of these matches.
This tournament continues to lead the way for youth basketball, not only in Trinidad, but the wider Caribbean, where more than 200 aspiring basketball players between the ages of 8 and 20 will meet to play. This is a model adapted from the United States of America which is carried out on a circuit basis and is played in different states.
Entry will be free for all and the tournament will be supported by main sponsor Republic Bank along with other sponsors MILO, Digicel and Domino’s.
The action begins at 8am on Thursday, and the curtains will come down at 8pm on Sunday with the awards ceremony. Fiesta Basketball’s focus continues to be the development of youth basketball and all elements that make up the game, including the development of aspiring young referees and officials in Trinidad and Tobago and beyond in the Caribbean.
Local teams include Spartans TT, New Chapter Academy, Royalty Basketball, Maloney Pacers Basketball and Youth Programme, Matthew Pierre Basketball Academy, Hoop Nation Academy, Enterprise Basketball, POS Trailblazers, Detour Shak Attack, Fatima Tigers, Elite Eagles Basketball Academy.
