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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, March 16, 2017 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – The last two championship teams in the Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris Basketball League were presented with their prize monies and championship trophies on Wednesday night (March 15), during a prize- giving ceremony at the Edgar Gilbert Sporting Complex in Molineux.

 

The Inner City Ballers won the 2015 competition, while Strivers was declared winners of the 2016 tournament.

 

Chairman of the Harris Basketball League Organizing Committee, Crace Lewis, said the Constituency 7 basketball tournament has grown significantly over the last 14 years.

 

Lewis said, “We could all remember back then how we played—t-shirts, backyard style, don’t have a referee, players having to officiate games but over the years we have transformed. We went along and got jerseys, electronic scoreboards; in 2015, we resurfaced the court – the first ever done in St. Kitts.”

 

Prime Minister and League Sponsor, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, also reflected on the growth of the league over the years, stating, “When we started the league some 14 years back, we were attempting to do many things. We were attempting to develop the sport and a competition for the young people in the constituency who loved the game and who wanted events organized outside of Basseterre that would allow them to hone their talents and their skills and to develop successfully as basketball players, and so many people came forward – some very young and some more mature – but they add to the quality by bringing experience and the energy and the high interest of the young people.”

 

The prime minister also commended the young people of Constituency 7, who participated in the tournament.

 

He added, “Throughout those 14 years, most of them, we hardly had any incidents so again that was a good sign and we would want to encourage that peaceful interaction between the players (so) that we could have a rich experience in our communities, build the friendships, break down the tendency for people to be impatient with one another, not wanting to work and not wanting to cooperate.”

 

 Dr. Harris also made special mention of the St. Kitts and Nevis Amateur Basketball Association (SKNABA) former president, James “Barman” Hanley, and its current president, Romel Tobias, for their support of the constituency basketball league over the years.