Postponement of the final eight basketball league draws the ire of club officials
By Rasheed Adewuyi
All the clubs preparing for the 2022 Final Eight Basketball League have been pushed off the cliff after being told by the Nigeria Basketball Federation the competition would no longer hold.
The NBBF, after months of foot-dragging, had informed the participating clubs that the Final Eight for the Atlantic and Savannah conference would hold at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City starting November 28.
Just when the clubs are gathering materials and putting their players in a competitive mood, the federation disclosed Friday, the competition would no longer hold, saying a new date would be communicated to the clubs.
This threw the players and their coaches off balance, and some have accused the NBBF of systematically killing local league contests by its seeming lack of commitment to keep the game going.
“This year, the NBBF has not organized any competition on its own,” said a basketball official. “What we have so far are the DK Olukoya, Sam Oguche, and Bullet tournaments, and so what do we have the NBBF for?
They didn’t give the clubs any reason for the cancellation. “It is from the final eight that Nigeria’s representative for the FIBA Afrique club championships is to emerge; now we don’t have this competition, so what next?”
When he was called on the phone to give a reason for the cancellation, the NBBF secretary-general Peter Njoku shied away from the question. Prof. Florence Adeyanju, the NBBF Zenith League Committee chairperson, refused to answer repeated calls to her phone.
The clubs qualified to compete in the final eight leagues include MFM Lagos, Dolphins Club, First Bank Basketball Club, and Delta Force in the Atlantic Conference. Air Warriors, Nigeria Customs, Black Gold, and Plateau Princesses who are in the Savanah Conference.
Sports Joust reliably gathered that NBBF’s internal crisis is largely responsible for the cancellation of the competition.
