The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) have fixed April 30 as jump-ball date for the 2009/ 2010 basketball season.
The announcement was made after a delegation of the Nigeria basketball ruling body led by the president; Tijjani Umar held a crucial meeting with Lagos-based team owners at the media centre of the national stadium, Lagos last Friday.
The NBBF team which also include the federation 1st Vice-President, Muktar Khaleh and other basketball bigwigs and representatives of the sponsor Multichoice owners of DSTV inspected facilities at the national stadium, University of Lagos Sports Centre and the Rowe Park Sports Centre.
Though the inspection team certifies all the venues visited as meeting the requirement to host games, but all the teams’ owners and representatives unanimously agreed to continue to use the Indoor Hall of the National Stadium, Lagos as their home venue for the present season.
With the agreement by Lagos-based teams to use the national stadium as home venue for their league games the number of venues that would be used for this season comes to nine scattered across seven states of the nation.
The venues include national stadium, Surulere, Lagos (Ebum Comets, Customs, Dodan Warriors, Islanders, Police Batons and Union Bank), sports hall of Asaba Township stadium, Delta State (Delta Force) and Civic Centre Port Harcourt, Rivers State (Royal Hoopers) for team in Atlantic conference.
Teams in the Savannah conference will have their games in Sports Hall of the Sani Abacha Stadium (Kano Pillars and AHIP); Kada Stars will have its home games at the sports hall of the Murtala Mohammed Square , Kaduna . Plateau Peaks and Tapgun Rockets will play their home games at the sports hall of the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna State as the NBBF rule out the Jos stadium; Niger Potters still retain its Minna, Niger State base just as Bauchi Net and Yelwa Hawks will have their home games at the Multi-purpose hall and the newly refurbished National Sports Commission gymnasium.
Fixtures for the coming season will be released to the public this week as teams get set for the first jump-ball.
…. Sets up 11-man league board
And in line to make the Nigeria league more vibrant, the Nigeria federation has set-up an 11-man league board to over see the running of the league.
The body is made up of NBBF 1st Vice-President Muktar Khaleh as chairman, representative of the sponsor, Dodan Warriors basketball club owner Col. Sam Ahmedu representing teams in the Atlantic Conference, owner of Yelwa Hawks’s basketball club, Hon. Tanko Dutse representing teams in the Savannah conference.
Other members of the league board include president of the referee council, president of the Coaches Association, Brigadier General Saleh Bala, Datty Aminu, Deji Jaiyeola, Agboola Pinheiro with Secretary General of the NBBF, Francis Gbiri as Secretary.
The body will be inaugurated by the NBBF president this week and they are expected to begin work immediately.
Olusegun Ikuesan
FIBA Africa