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By Joe Apu
South East Basketball Association, which comprises Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo, has categorically condemned the suspension of Nigerian basketball from international competitions.
The association, in a statement signed by its secretary, Osondu Ngude, said it commiserates with all the players both local and international that the actions of the Minister of Youth and Sports Development Mr. Sunday Dare have and will affect.
“It’s a known fact that the Nigerian national team is composed mostly of Southeast players, and without any contradiction, the South East Basketball association is 100 percent behind the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) and its President, Musa Ahmadu Kida, who has in four years built a basketball dynasty with no parallel in the history of our game.
“It is no coincidence that in the past four years, Nigeria’s D’ Tigers and D’ Tigress have become the two best teams in Africa and the top 10 in the world, which pops the question of why did the Minister, Sunday Dare, suspend the best sports federation in Nigeria? “The only federation to qualify the men’s and women’s teams for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo Japan, built the most robust grassroots program in the history of the game with the first-ever division 1 and 2 tournaments sponsored by TotalEnergies Nigeria,” the queried
The association further noted that it was during the four years that the zone has been the first-ever time the South East as a block participated in any grassroots event and the first-ever time a South East team “Coal city Miners” featured in the Premier League “THE PRESIDENTS CUP”.
