B-ball Championships return

The National Basketball Federation of Trinidad and Tobago (NBFTT) will, for the first time since 1993, host National Basketball Championships. It will be staged from October 11 to November 30 and involve the country’s top male and female teams. With a $33,700 cash and trophy package alongside individual accolades, the championships also promise a high level of play. At the official launch of the championships yesterday, NBFTT President Clayton Blackman described the the effort as a resurrection of the sport locally designed to rekindle the public’s interest. The plan has also received the support of the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs and a number of corporate bodies.

The championships are part of the NBFTT’s initiative to restore basketball’s prominence in TT and Blackman also revealed plans for a primary schools and a Professional Basketball League. Also on the cards is an NBA-styled competition in the near future. The talents of ten male and eight female teams from the east, north, south-west, central and Tobago zones will bid to top their two respective groups. The top four teams will then clash in a best-of-three “Big Four” showdown to provide the finalist. Registration deadline is September 26 and will cost $1,000 for a 20-member male team and $500 for a 20-member female squad. Men’s winners will collect $8,000 and a trophy, runners-up get $5,000 and a trophy, while $3,000 and a trophy go to the third placed team; and $1,000 for fourth place.
 
The champion women’s team collect $6,000 and a trophy; with $4,000 and a trophy for the runners-up; third-placed team get $2,000 and a trophy and $1,000 go to the fourth-placed team. There will also be individual awards for male and female MVPs; the Derrick James and Erica Downes Trophies for the “Best Guard;” the Godfrey Archill and Selma Moore Trophies for the “Best Forward;” the Victor O’Garro and Hazel Taylor Trophies for the “Best Centre;” and the Lenny Guy Joseph Trophy for “Coach of the Year”. The full roster of qualified teams is as follows:

Men: UTC Maloney Pacers (East Zone), Sangre Grande All Stars (East Zone), National Flour Mills (North Zone), Detour Shaq Attack (North Zone), Topshotters (Tobago Zone), Seattle (Tobago Zone), Marabella Raptors (South Zone), Cap-de-Ville Hoppers (South-West Zone), Stings (South-West Zone) and Edinburgh 500 Hawks (Central).
Women: UTC Maloney Pacers (East Zone), Malick Tigers (East Zone), Defence Force (North Zone), Courts Horizon (North Zone), Star Seekers (Tobago Zone), Courts Hillbouncers (Tobago Zone), Brian Chase Academy (East Zone) and Police (East Zone).