School basketball spotlight returns as KFC NSBF opens Sunday

Guyana’s leading school basketball teams will return to the national stage on Sunday when the 19th edition of the KFC National School Basketball Festival begins in Georgetown.

The festival, organised by Youth Basketball Guyana, will run from June 28 to July 5 and will feature competition in the Girls, Under-14, Under-16 and Under-18 divisions. Matches will be played at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall and the National Gymnasium, with the opening ceremony set for Sunday at 1:00 PM.

This year’s tournament is expected to provide another important platform for the country’s young basketball players, as schools from several regions compete for national titles across the four divisions.

Opening-day action will focus on the Girls and Under-16 categories. Among the schools listed for early fixtures are President’s College, Queen’s College, Marian Academy, JC Chandisingh Secondary, Tutorial Academy, Hururu Secondary, Berbice High, The Bishops’ High, Mackenzie High, St. Stanislaus College and St. Rose’s High.

In the Girls division, President’s College, Marian Academy and JC Chandisingh Secondary will compete in Group A, while Group B includes Queen’s College, Tutorial Academy and Hururu Secondary.

The tournament will continue with preliminary games and quarter-finals from June 29 to July 2, before the attention shifts to the High School All-Star showcase on July 3. That programme will feature the Junior All-Star Game, Girls All-Star Game and Senior All-Star Game.

The semi-finals will be played on July 4 across all four divisions, setting up championship day on July 5.

The final day will begin with the Under-14 championship game at 4:00 PM, followed by the Girls final at 5:15 PM and the Under-16 final at 6:30 PM. The festival will conclude with the Under-18 final at 8:00 PM.

The National School Basketball Festival is being staged with Edward B. Beharry and Company Limited as title sponsor. G-Boats Guyana is also listed among the sponsors, while the event is being held in partnership with the Ministry of Education and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.