The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

NOW into its 20th year of existence, the Youth Against Violence annual Peace on da Streets Basketball Classic will have a little of something for everybody.

According to organiser Carlos Reid, this year’s tournament - scheduled for July 15-18 - will have an array of games in five divisions, a showdown between the Saxons and the Valley Boys, the clash of the media, the battle of the pastors versus the politicians and a whole lot of food.

“Youth Against Violence is committed to the continued fight against crime and violence in our country. We will continue to provide positive alternatives and solutions to this vexing problem,” said Reid during a press conference at the Hope Center to officially announce the tournament yesterday.

“We refuse to sit on the sidelines and hope that it will get better because the reality is that it won’t get better until every law abiding and sensible citizen comes to a place where we can accept that no government or police force can solve or manage crime without the support of the people.”

More than 40 teams are expected to play in the 13-and-under, 16-and-under, 19-and-under, church and open divisions when the competition gets underway on July 15. Teams will be placed in pools and play in a round robin format until they get to the semi-final and final, which will be single elimination.

Not only will New Providence be represented, but Reid said they intend to have teams from Grand Bahama and the US participating this year.

July 18 has been dubbed “Famly Night” with the festivities starting at 5pm and will include the championship game in all divisions, the three-point shootout and slam dunk competitions, the latter of which will be a rematch against former champion “Werm” out of Fort Lauderdale against two-time defending champion Able Joseph.

There will also be the media game with a team from ZNS, coached by Charles Fisher, against a team from The Nassau Guardian, coached by Sheldon Longley. Additionally, the pastors will meet the politicians and the Saxons and the Valley Boys will hook up.

All of the media houses are among the list of sponsors which also includes Negril Café, Sunshine Auto and New Destiny Baptist Church.

Darius Ramsey, of Negril, said they are excited about sponsoring the unique tournament that brings together men and women when there is a calm in the air and a sense of peace in the community with a whole lot of positivity as people try to see whether or not they still have their game.

“We again tip our hats off to Bro Reid. We know that it’s going to be fun and from Negril Café, we just want to say thanks for inviting us to be here and we look forward to this event,” Ramsey said. “The commissioner of police can tell you that every year around this time, there tends to be a sense of calm in the air because of the positive vibe that is in the atmosphere.”

Deanza ‘Sonny’ Cox said Sunshine Auto will once again put their name on the sponsorship of the three-point shooting competition and they have decided to continue because of the longevity of the tournament.

“For anyone to do anything for 20 years, that’s super,” said Cox, who wore a San Francisco Giants hat to show his support to his nephew Lucius Fox, who last week signed to begin a professional career with the Major League organisation.

“Twenty years of doing anything is super. I have big respect for Carlos Reid because putting up with this and doing this for 20 years, he must love it. I did a car show for 10 years and I had some ups and downs. I thank God for the Bahamian people who supported me. If they love you, they will support you. If they don’t, you will feel it.”

And Delton Fernander, pastor of New Destiny Baptist Church, said while he has played in the pastors versus the politicians game in the past, he decided to bring his church on board as a sponsor because it is a positive event.

“I think the country understands that it is a positive event. We want to show that we can put our energy into such positive events,” he said. “So I want to invite all of you to come out. This is a celebration. It’s going to be a good one and you want to be a part of it. We are excited to be a part of it.”