Stakeholders in the Nigerian basketball circuit will converge in Abuja between February 5 and 6 to brainstorm on the development of the game in the country as it affects the principal actors, the players and their officials.
Meanwhile, just like the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Basketball brings basketball madness to basketball lovers all over the globe in March with the Sweet 16 and Final Four, it’s going to be March madness for fans of Nigerian Basketball as the Nigerian Professional League season for Men and Women, the DSTV Premier Basketball League and the Zenith Bank Female League are set to jump ball this March.
According to information from the secretariat of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF), fans from across the country will be treated to mouth-watering action for the 2014/2015 DSTV Premier League starting from March 6, while the traditional first phase of the Zenith Bank Female League in Abuja will jump ball from March 15 to 25.
The organisers of the league stated that the league should have come up earlier this year, but for the political climate of the country with the general elections coming up soon.
The new season promises excitement, as the defending champion, Kano Pillars, guns for their fourth straight title in the DSTV Premier League and will welcome back newly-promoted Delta Force and FCT Rocks representing both the Atlantic and Savannah conferences, alongside the 13 other teams that will jostle for the Premier league crown.
Four-time Zenith League champion, First Deepwater Basketball Club, will hope to get its trophy back from the Elephant girls (First Bank Basketball club), having lost the title last season after winning it in four of the last five seasons and the emerging force of Dolphins Basketball Club who finally look ready to win the title for the first time after an inspiring 2014 African Champions Cup campaign last November.
Expect all the thrills and frills, as “Basketball Madness” takes centre stage this March, as we welcome back a double dose of Premier League basketball and a quest for the coveted league crown. Who takes it?