It is with the greatest sorrow and shock that the International Olympic Committee has learned of the death of Mr Patrick Baumann, IOC Member in Switzerland, in Buenos Aires. He was 51. Patrick Baumann was a central figure in the Olympic Movement. A former player, coach and referee, Patrick Baumann dedicated his life to basketball […]
In its meeting of the 9th of December 2017, the Federation of International Basketball Associations (FIBA) has ruled out any ban on Nigeria at the international level and there are no new elections into the Executive Board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation after the June 13 election in Abuja. This declaration was contained in a […]
via FIBA RULES OUT BAN OR NEW ELECTIONS FOR NBBF — newfanzoneblog
FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, and world leading sports apparel brand Nike, on Monday announced the signing of an 11-year (2017-2027) commercial agreement covering FIBA’s Senior Men’s, Women’s and Youths’ flagship national team competitions. It is a natural partnership between the number one basketball brand in the world and the sport’s governing body, which counts […]
via FIBA signs 11-year strategic partnership with iconic basketball brand Nike — newfanzoneblog
*says Nigeria can dominate Africa if…,
World’s basketball governing body, FIBA Sports Director Lubomir Kotleba has said that Nigeria has the best potential to lead the rest of Africa in basketball if all the stakeholders could rededicate themselves to the service and development of the game.
Kotleba, a retired veteran FIBA super-referee, arrived Abuja for meetings with the NBBF and Nigerian sports authorities in respect of FIBA’s ‘New Governance structure” New Competition Calendar’ and the ‘National Federations Support and Development’ Initiative, disclosed to basketball stakeholders in Abuja Sunday that Angola had hitherto benefitted from the administrative and infrastuctural advantage it had,noting that is now over with the recent organizational progress and successes recorded by Nigeria.
“Nigeria players are very skillful and also have the best possible basketball bodies . You have enormous potentials, which if properly harnessed, will make you the leading nation in Africa and with what i see today, there is no reason for you to dominate Africa,like Angola did,for the next 20 years”, he said.
“The Angolans told me that they know the potentials of Nigeria in the game but that what has been working for them is the tremendous funding support from government as against the Nigerians,” he disclosed.
He therefore admonished all the sport’s stakeholders to support the current leadership which he described as “strong and focused” in order to put Nigerian basketball where it ought to be on the continent.
The FIBA Sports Director who took time to watch games of the Abuja Elite Private Secondary Schools Basketball Classics at the outdoor courts of the Abuja National Stadium also interacted with various stakeholders of the basketball family to find out how they operate and advised them on how to give their best in their areas of specialization.
Before his departure Tuesday, NBBF president, Tijjani Umar had led Mr. Kotleba on courtesy calls to the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) president, Engr. Habu Gumel, his predecessor and former sports minister, Engr. Sani Ndanusa as well as the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Mallam Al-Hassan Yakmut.
The three administrators thanked him for visiting the NBBF, which they described as the reference point for sports federations in Nigeria and appealed to FIBA to support basketball in Nigeria to enable NBBF sustain the many successes it recorded in
Nigeria sealed qualification to the 2015 FIBA Africa Basketball championship in Tunisia and the All African Games in Congo with a 63-50 victory over Burkina Faso in the 2nd Leg of the qualifiers at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National stadium in Surulere, Lagos.
The D’Tigers who won the 1st leg by 23 points in Ouagadougou jumped off the starting block in style, in front of the ecstatic Lagos crowd with an 8 points lead in the 1st quarter with the score line at 18-10 points.
Though missing a couple of free throws in the 2nd quarter, the D’Tigers extended their lead 32-17 to go on the half time break with a 15 points lead thanks to good offensive display.
It was a tougher game for the host after the break as the Burkinabes’ gave a tough fight in the 2nd half winning both the 3rd and 4th quarters 15-14 and 18-17 points respectively. However, a relentless Nigerian side held on for the much needed victory to keep the 2016 Rio Olympics dream alive, which the 2015 Afrobasket will act as qualifiers.
Burkina Faso’s Moussa Ouattara lead the floor on the night with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort with no Nigerian player recording double digits.
However, Azuoma Dike, Abdulwahab Yakubu and Abdulwahab Yahaya all finished with 9points apiece with Azuoma adding 6 rebounds to his tally. And Nigeria’s only home based player at the 2013 FIBA Africa Basketball Championship (Afrobasket) in Abidjan , Stanley Gumut giving a performance reminiscent of the performance that got him a national call up putting up 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists and captain Olumide Oyedeji adding 6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists.
Nigeria is now joins 13 other qualified countries – Angola, Egypt, Cote d’ Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Morocco, Uganda, Cape Verde, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Gabon, Congo and host Tunisia- for her 17th appearance at FIBA Africa Championship built for the cities of Nabuel and Hammamet, Tunisia from the 20th-30th August 2015 vis-a-vis the 11th All African Games scheduled for September 4-19th in Congo Brazzaville.
Nigeria can now boast of 2 members on the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Central Board, following the appointment of Nigeria Basketball Federation board member and D’Tigers captain Olumide Oyedeji on the FIBA Player’s commission for the 2014-2019 term of office.
Oyedeji’s appointment comes, following his nomination by the Nigerian Basketball Federation in line with the criteria provided by the World governing body of Basketball vis his achievement on the court as well as his tireless work ethic in developing the game not only in his home country and Africa but across the globe. He will serve in the newly inaugurated FIBA Player’s commission under the chairmanship of former Serbian International and NBA great Vlade Divac.
The former Nigerian NBA star now joins Nigerian Doctor Dr. Abdullahi Mu’azu, a Director of Sports Medicine, in the National Sports Commission (NSC) who is a member of the FIBA Medical commission, on the FIBA Board.
Oluwafemi Adefeso
NBBF Media Committee
Nigeria may weĺl boast of 10 FIBA referees by the end of October should Lagos referees Lai Alimi, olusegun Adekanmbi, Samuel Sofoluwe, Razak Okedeyi, Joseph Patrick alongside Musa Gambo from Kano and FCT referee Opeyemi Ogunleye succesfully complete the FIBA referee clinic and examination which starts from the 15th to 17th of October 2014.
The 3day assessment slated for Cotonou, Benin Republic, will see the Nigerian 7 regional referees join their other African collegues to be assessed on their knowledege on the newly revised 2014 Official Basketball rules approved by the FIBA central board as well as physical evaluation.
Today, Nigeria currently has 3 FIBA referees, Kingsley Ojeaburu who stands as the first Nigerian referee to officiate at any senior World organised event , when he arbitrated at the maiden FIBA World Cup in Spain in September. Oyo State’s Tunde Popoola and Yinka Famogbiyele from Osun State make up the Nigerian FIBA BIG 3.
Success for the seven,will mean Nigeria will have a total of 10 referees eligible to officiate both continental and international competitions come 2015.
Oluwafemi Adefeso
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has appointed the Director of Sports Medicine,National Sports Commission Dr.Abdulkadir Mu’azu on the FIBA Medical Commission for the 2014-2019 term of office.
Dr. Mu’azu upon this appointment, is expected to work with the chairman and members of the commission for the next five years in order to raise the quality and standard of sports medicine care to basketball players around the world and enhance the dissemination of sports medicine knowledge to basketball medical teams through research and professional development and training.
The NSC Director who obtained his Sports Medicine specialization from the University of Canberra, Australia is also a Sports Medicine Fellow of the University of North Carolina, USA and has worked closely with several National basketball and soccer teams in the last 25 years. He also holds membership of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine with a keen interest in the prevention of sudden cardiac death especially in soccer and basketball.
According to the release, Dr Mu’azu whose nomination was forwarderd by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) to the world governing body of basketball is the second African to be appointed on the FIBA Medical commission, the other is returning Guinean doctor, Dr. Gueye Aboubacar who was reappointed on the commission.
D’Tigers, national men’s team of Nigeria have dropped six places to 24th in the latest FIBA World rankings released on Monday after the FIBA World Cup ended in Spain. Nigeria, despite dropping 6 places maintain 3rd position in Africa behind unmoved Tunisia in 23rd and African champions Angola, who dropped one place to 16th.
West African neighbours Senegal emerged the biggest movers in the world ranking moving up 11 places to 30th and 4th in Africa after an impressive World cup in Spain . While Egypt despite failing to win a game at the World Cup took a giant leap moving up 5 places on the world rankings to 41 and 6th in Africa, behind Ivory Coast in Africa who dropped by one place 37th. The rest of Africa’s top 10 on the rankings include Cameroun 43rd, Cape Verde 50th, Central African Republic 55th and Morocco in 59th position in the world.
World Top 10…
The United States, Spain, Argentina and Lithuania remain the top four countries in the FIBA bwin Men World Ranking. France after winning her first world basketball medal by overcoming Lithuania in the 3rd place match, moved up three places to 5th. While surprise World cup finalist Serbia, moved to 7th from 11th place behind Russia who remained unmoved in 6th. Turkey, Brazil and Greece complete the top 10 basketball nations in the world according to the International Basketball Federation release.
Oluwafemi Adefeso
The Nigeria Basketball Federation has described the just concluded 16th congress of FIBA Africa as well organized and roundly successful.The congress which took place in Madagascar discussed the way forward for African basketball in relation to the new FIBA governance structure,competition calendar and format and also elected officials to steer the affairs of the zone during the 2014-2019 term of office
In a statement signed by it’s President,Tijjani Umar, the federation congratulated the continental body for it’s pro-active leadership and innovation and also hailed the two elected Nigerian members of the body’s central board, Muktar Khaleh,immediate past two-term president of zone 3 comprising eight west African countries and now President of FIBA Africa’s Finance Commission and Sam Ahmedu,the new Zone 3 President. By their membership of the FIBA Africa central board and as provided by it’s new statutes,the duo will become automatic members of the next NBBF board when the tenure of the current board expires in 2017.
The NBBF urged Khaleh and Ahmedu to be great ambassadors of Nigeria and rededicate themselves to the shared ideal of moving Nigerian basketball forward which formed the platform for their emergence.
Oluwafemi Adefeso
NBBF MEDIA COMMITTEE
At its meeting on 1 February 2014, FIBA’s Central Board decided to award the four wild cards for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup to Brazil (#10 in FIBA Ranking Men), Finland (#39), Greece (#5) and Turkey (#7).
Considering the fact that the officials in charge of the Senegalese Basketball Federation have complied with past disciplinary sanctions imposed by FIBA and have agreed to a clear road map for the complete re-organisation of the national federation, FIBA’s Central Board has accepted to lift the ban imposed on the Senegalese national team and allow it to take part in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
As a result, the field is now complete for FIBAs flagship event. The 24 teams are: Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Greece, Iran, Korea, Lithuania, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and USA.
The wild cards are made to ensure that FIBA has the teams which enable it to have the best possible FIBA Basketball World Cup, as FIBA Secretary General and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member Patrick Baumann highlighted.
“Since 2006, 11 of the 12 teams that have been granted wild cards were always inside the top 24 of the FIBA Ranking Men,” he said. “This proves that FIBA’s Central Board is determined to make the FIBA Basketball World Cup as competitive as possible.
“Three of the recipients of the wild cards for Spain 2014 are ranked inside the top 10. Greece, fifth in the current ranking, are a powerhouse of international basketball and this is the first time they have asked for a wild card. Brazil were quarter-finalists at the 2012 London Olympics, are 10th in the world and will host the 2016 Rio Olympics. Turkey were silver medalists at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and are a regular fixture in leading international tournaments.
“The fourth, Finland, impressed at EuroBasket 2013 by beating four teams from the Top 15 in FIBA’s Ranking Men as they finished ninth in Slovenia. The Finns are enjoying massive support with their fans travelling in big numbers to their games.
“The current growth of Finnish basketball is the result of a solid long-term strategy being executed by the Finnish Basketball Association and still has a lot of potential for development.”
“All four teams have confirmed the total commitment of their best players to participate at Spain 2014.
“These picks have also been backed by the Local Organising Committee.
Source: Olusegun Ikuesan
Eurobasket
Nigeria national team – AfroBasket 2013
FIBA profiles Nigeria as one of the candidates for one of the wildcards for the FIBA Basketball World Cup
MIES (FIBA Basketball World Cup) – On 1 February 2014, FIBA’s Central Board will announce the national teams that will be the recipients of the four wild cards to complete the field at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Fifteen national teams from across four FIBA zones submitted their applications for the wild cards. They all participated in their respective 2013 continental championships which are qualifying tournament for FIBA’s flagship event in Spain next year (30 August-14 September 2014).
The 15 candidates are: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Nigeria, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Turkey and Venezuela.
In the lead-up to the decision on 1 February, we will profile all 15 applicants.
Today we look at Nigeria (NGR).
Recent history in international competitions: Nigeria finished the First Round of AfroBasket 2013 undefeated with wins over Mali, Congo and Cameroon and then knocked off Central African Republic in the Round of 16. But the Nigerians were bounced in the Quarter-Finals by Senegal, 64-63. They lost to Cape Verde and then eventually claimed seventh place by easing past Morocco. The disappointment in Cote d’Ivoire came one summer after Nigeria went through the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament and reached their first-ever Olympics at London 2012, where they registered one win – over fellow African side Tunisia. Nigeria have collected six podium finishes in African basketball, coming in second in 1997, 1999 and 2003 and third in 1995, 2005 and 2011. The Nigerians have played at two editions of the FIBA World Championship, taking 13th place in 1998 and 14th in 2006.
Tijjani Umar, the President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF), took time to make his country’s case for receiving a wild card.
FIBA: What are the three main reasons why Nigeria deserves to receive a wild card to participate in the 2014 FIBA World Cup?
Umar: 1. Our team has a pool of sustainable talent in some of the best basketball leagues around the world that can perform and compete against the best at the highest levels of the game (i.e.the Olympics and the FIBA Basketball World Cup) and our best players have committed to play in the FIBA Basketball World Cup if we are invited. 2. The quality of our team was demonstrated in 2012 when it became the first African team to qualify to any Olympic basketball event from the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) since its inception and a chance to play in the World Cup with our exciting style of play will improve competition and television viewership. Thanks to our team’s recent performances, basketball is now the second most watched sport after football in our country of over 140 million people. 3. No African team before has enjoyed a wild card invitation to the FIBA Basketball World Cup and it will be a great honour to be the first, especially as our formidable team at Afrobasket 2013 failed to qualify directly largely due to a depleted roster caused by major injuries and the players are itching to redeem the team’s profile.
FIBA: If given a wild card, how competitive can we expect Nigeria to be and how confident are you that the team will feature all its leading/best players?
Umar: If given a wild card, our team will present its best-ever roster for maximum impact and our team captain has written a commitment letter on behalf of his colleagues which is enclosed in our bid document.
FIBA: How will having your national team play at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup help the growth, development and popularity of the sport in your country?
Umar: Our team playing in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup will translate into tangible benefits for the growth and development of the game by way of the guaranteed mass television viewership and popularity attracting more investment in basketball from sponsorships (our premier league sponsor dstv/supersport will be interested to show our team’s games to more than 40 african countries as they do our league games) and deployment of the additional resources to the provision and improvement of basketball infrastructure and establishing basketball academies to secure the future of the game in our country. The team’s World Cup status will also further compel government to improve basketball funding at the critical formative (school) levels.
FIBA: What do you consider as the greatest moment in your country’s basketball history?
Umar: Without a doubt, the greatest moment in our country’s basketball history was when our men’s team qualified for the basketball event of the 2012 London Games from the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Venezuela and along the way defeating Greece and Lithuania which were ranked fourth and fifth in the world.
Additional information about basketball in Nigeria
At the moment, the number of documented players (men and women) including those in our leagues and high schools and universities is about 106,950 but there are more than a million yet to be documented players around the country and the federation is looking to them to grow the game.
Source: FIBA
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