NBBF PRESIDENT TO ROLL OUT BASKETBALL PROGRAMMES SOON
BY BEN NWACHUKWU, ABUJA
This year’s Men’s version of Mark D Ball Basketball Championship comprising 24 teams will dunk off on Sunday, February 6th, at the Indoor Sports Hall, located in Package B of the MKO Abiola National Stadium Abuja.
The event which was pushed forward by a few days, due to the usage of the venue for a Table Tennis tournament, finally got the go ahead to start, after the conclusion of the table tennis event on Saturday.
The teams have been pooled into 3 Groups A, B, and C; as they will take turns to play each other in a round robbin format weekly, starting with Group A.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s jumpball, the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation NBBF and Initiator of Mark D Ball Basketball Championship, Igoche Mark, explains that the championship is his pet project geared towards the development of the game; and not that of the NBBF stating that the federation will soon roll out developmental programmes.
“For 10 years and counting, Mark D Ball Basketball Championship has been my pet project even before I emerged as the President of NBBF. The championship is geared towards the development of the game (Basketball). It is a mixture of sport, entertainment and rewards. As stated in the Press Release I issued few days ago, the NBBF under my watch is committed to develop and expand the scope of Basketball in Nigeria. All stakeholders in Basketball including the media will benefit from our programmes.” Mark stated.
The NBBF President has promised to revive the dead domestic league, following the dearth of games suffered in the last four years.
The Mark D Ball teams in Group A are Gombe Bulls, Police Batons, Apa Flames, Hot Coal Ballers, Nile University Spartans, AHIP Giants, Mo Heat and Safety Knights.