Basketball in Africa

The Nigerian flagship championship, the Premier League will take the first shot of this term with the opening match between Yelwa Hawks Bauchi and AHIP Giants at the Bauchi Multi Purpose Sports Hall, in Bauchi - a city north of the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. The game will be the first of the day as the second match of the season follows immediately after in the same hall with the match between Bauchi Nets and Tapgun Rockets of Jos.

The first match will start at 4pm going by the detail fixtures released by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) this week. The teams in the Atlantic Conference will, however, wait until the following weekend when the first shot for the zone will be taken in Lagos via the match between former champions Ebun Comets and the Nigeria Customs team. The game at the National Stadium will be followed immediately by that between Dodan Warriors and Union Bank. The weekend games will move to Asaba in southern part of the West African country the following day as hosts Delta Force step out against Lagos Islanders.

The men will step out in the Savannah Conference more than one week after the ladies start up the first leg of the Zenith Bank League in Abuja. The Federation's League Director Muktar Khaleh confirmed to FIBA that the fixtures will be followed accordingly as all things have been worked out properly.

"What is left now is for us to start, I guess. There's hardly anything left to be arranged," he said.

The league which is holding in full with the Road Trips will mark a return of full action as the full season only held two years back. Last year the Federation settled for a zonal play to select the country's continental representatives. Indeed the last time the Road Trip system last featured in the league was about four seasons ago. But despite the wait for an expected sponsor the teams opted to play the Road Trips and get their players better physically ready for international engagements. The decision was taken February 2nd when the NBBF and the teams met in Abuja.

The league is billed to hold every weekend afterwards and nearly every day from the second week when the Road Trip schedule come into force. The regular season is scheduled to round off by August.

By Pius Ayinor