GUYANA Breweries Incorporated yesterday announced its support of the Rawle Toney 3×3 Classic, which is set for February 19-20, 2022, at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
The 16-team tournament will carry a first-place prize of US$3,000. It will be launched on December 10, at the country’s premier indoor facility on Homestretch Avenue.
“I would like to congratulate Mr Rawle Toney for putting this tournament together. This is indeed a historic moment for basketball in Guyana. This will bring in more eyes to the sport and to Guyana via the various digital platforms,” said the company’s Country Manager, Kelvin Singh
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Singh, who is known for his philanthropy towards sports and athletes in Guyana through Guyana Breweries Inc,, said the company is “extremely happy to continue support of the Rawle Toney Classic under the Mackeson brand for this tournament”.
SeWeon McGarrell, Trade Marketing Executive, and event organiser Rawle Toney, along with Guyana Breweries Inc.’s Country Manager, Kelvin Singh, are locked in discussion.
Mackeson was the tournament’s title sponsor in the 2019 Edition, which was held at the Burnham Basketball Court and saw Pitbulls 2.0 cashing in on the event’s US$1,500 winners’ purse.
Singh confirmed that Guyana Breweries Inc.’s partnership “will go beyond the event in February 2022. We are looking at supporting the sport at the court root level in Guyana.”
“Leading up to the tournament, we will be having promotions and other activities to enhance the fan viewership and experience. This is also a great opportunity for our local players to test their skills against some of the top players in the region, and we would like to wish all the players all the best for the tournament,” Singh said.
The Mackeson brand is credited as the first major sponsor of 3×3 basketball in Guyana, dating back to 2011 when they hosted the ‘Mackeson Smooth Moves’ 3×3 tournament, which carried $1M as its first-place prize.
The Mackeson Smooth Moves 3×3 countrywide tournament still stands today as the highest purse ever paid to teams in basketball locally.
Meanwhile, tournament organiser, Rawle Toney, thanked Singh and Guyana Breweries Inc. for showing faith not only in the tournament, but also in basketball’s shortest format in Guyana.
Toney said while all the details related to the tournament will be given on December 10 at the event’s launching, he was happy to point to the strong interest of teams from the Caribbean, particularly Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia and neighbouring Suriname.
