Angola v Nigeria, Afrobasket 2015, Radès (Tunisia), Final, 30 August 2015
SHEFFIELD (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - Four months ago, Nigeria made history by winning AfroBasket for the very first time, but the legacy of that success is yet to make a difference for local clubs.
As this year's FIBA Africa Champions Cup (ACC) is currently ongoing in the Angolan capital of Luanda, Nigeria's national champions Mark Mentors are nowhere to be seen.
SHEFFIELD (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - Four months ago, Nigeria made history by winning AfroBasket for the very first time, but the legacy of that success is yet to make a difference for local clubs.
As this year's FIBA Africa Champions Cup (ACC) is currently ongoing in the Angolan capital of Luanda, Nigeria's national champions Mark Mentors are nowhere to be seen.
Instead, Kano Pillars - who finished runners-up in Nigeria's DSTV Premier Basketball League - are the country's only representatives in the competition.
And as I write this column on Sunday 13 December, things are not looking great for Pillars who opened the tournament with two consecutive defeats.
For much of the past few days I have tried without success to figure out why Mark Mentors - which has in its ranks some of the best home-based players including Stanley Gumut and Abdul Yahaya - pulled out of this year's ACC after finishing second in the FIBA Africa Zone 3 qualifier last month in Cotonou, Benin.
ASB Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo also pulled out of the ACC, leaving only 10 of the 12 qualified clubs doing battle in Africa's flagship club competition.
I am looking into the implications of Mark Mentors’s withdrawal. And judging by the reaction of Nigerian fans, the national champions pulling out caught many by surprise.
I've speculated they might have had troubles getting their entry visas to Angola, but in meantime I don't think it would have taken them more than three weeks to get their paperwork. If Mark Mentors withdrew due to management or funding reasons - as was precisely the case of Kano Pillars last year - then Nigeria's AfroBasket title is yet to transform the game for good in the country.
American-Nigerian Ben Uzoh was the only home-based player who helped Nigeria beat Angola in Tunis, Tunisia to see his country win the continental title and qualify for the Olympic Games for the second time in a row. However that should not mean that local clubs such as Mark Mentors have to remain in the shadows of the national team.
the competition tipped off in Tunis, while Mark Mentors came in ninth in the 11-team event.
At the time, Kano Pillars guard and Nigerian international Usman Abubakar called on shareholders to come together and rescue Nigerian clubs. His views seem to remain very much alive these days.
He said: "At the continental level, we didn't do [as] well as we had expected because there's so much that was left undone. The Nigerian Basketball Federation needs to assist teams in continental championships by ensuring that there is an improved league. Our clubs need better enlightenment in the way they plan for continental championships and the technical crews also need to show greater commitment in carrying out their jobs."
It's common knowledge that basketball trails football as the most popular sport in the Western African country and as result might not enjoy the same privilege when it comes to sponsorship as well as marketing deals. With that being said, I feel it's about time that the success of Nigeria's national team makes a difference for local clubs as well as home-based players in order to avoid that the impression that while the new African champions made a step forward the clubs made step back.
And as I write this column on Sunday 13 December, things are not looking great for Pillars who opened the tournament with two consecutive defeats.
For much of the past few days I have tried without success to figure out why Mark Mentors - which has in its ranks some of the best home-based players including Stanley Gumut and Abdul Yahaya - pulled out of this year's ACC after finishing second in the FIBA Africa Zone 3 qualifier last month in Cotonou, Benin.
ASB Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo also pulled out of the ACC, leaving only 10 of the 12 qualified clubs doing battle in Africa's flagship club competition.
I am looking into the implications of Mark Mentors’s withdrawal. And judging by the reaction of Nigerian fans, the national champions pulling out caught many by surprise.
I've speculated they might have had troubles getting their entry visas to Angola, but in meantime I don't think it would have taken them more than three weeks to get their paperwork. If Mark Mentors withdrew due to management or funding reasons - as was precisely the case of Kano Pillars last year - then Nigeria's AfroBasket title is yet to transform the game for good in the country.
American-Nigerian Ben Uzoh was the only home-based player who helped Nigeria beat Angola in Tunis, Tunisia to see his country win the continental title and qualify for the Olympic Games for the second time in a row. However that should not mean that local clubs such as Mark Mentors have to remain in the shadows of the national team.
the competition tipped off in Tunis, while Mark Mentors came in ninth in the 11-team event.
At the time, Kano Pillars guard and Nigerian international Usman Abubakar called on shareholders to come together and rescue Nigerian clubs. His views seem to remain very much alive these days.
He said: "At the continental level, we didn't do [as] well as we had expected because there's so much that was left undone. The Nigerian Basketball Federation needs to assist teams in continental championships by ensuring that there is an improved league. Our clubs need better enlightenment in the way they plan for continental championships and the technical crews also need to show greater commitment in carrying out their jobs."
It's common knowledge that basketball trails football as the most popular sport in the Western African country and as result might not enjoy the same privilege when it comes to sponsorship as well as marketing deals. With that being said, I feel it's about time that the success of Nigeria's national team makes a difference for local clubs as well as home-based players in order to avoid that the impression that while the new African champions made a step forward the clubs made step back.
By: Julio Chitunda for FIBA
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