•Nigeria’s prospects in world basketball high – Bile
Joe Apu
Wolrd Basketball governing body, FIBA’s three-man fact finding team comprising of Executive Director, Africa, Alphonse Bile; Special Advisor to Secretary-General, Mr. Lubomir Kotleba and Competition Commission member Fode Amara Condemade on Wednesday concluded its mission to Nigeria.
Determined to bring the confusion over the authentic leadership of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) to an end following the elections, FIBA Executive Director, Africa, Alphonso Bile told journalists in Lagos at the conclusion of its meeting with the Nigeria Olympic Committee that he is glad that they visited and spoke with all the parties involved.
“I want to plead that Nigerians should be patient and await the decision of FIBA at the next central board meeting on March 10, 2017. I assure that FIBA would take a decision in the best interest of all the parties involved in the dispute. However, I am of the opinion that Nigeria has the potentials to compete favourably at the top level if they cooperate.
“Our job is to meet all the parties involved in the crisis and send all the facts we gathered to the FIBA Central Board that will then take a decision on the matter in March.”
Bile, however, said that Nigeria basketball has got to a level where it needs a good federation to move the game forward in the country.
Nigeria won the Afrobasket for men in 2015 and also finished second at last year edition with new sets of players with Ike Diogu the only member of the winning team to return to the 2017 team. The female team also won the Afrobasket last year and will play at the World in Spain later this year.