A heavy downpour has disrupted the grand finale of the 2010 Thome Cabalan Championship at the Lebanon court on Friday, bringing to the limelight the long old tradition of the deplorable state of the country’s basketball facilities.
The situation at the Lebanon court was a sorry one as pupils were seen mobbing the court with brooms following a heavy downpour in the nation’s capital Accra, raising the age old concerns about the need for government to show commitment and build at least one modern basketball gymnasium.
CEPS ladies were cruising to a 43-27 success against Police going into the fourth quarter before the rains halted play at the open court with fans running for cover in the cold weather. Very apologetic to the crazy basketball fans who had throng the venue to witness the grand finale bubbling with so much expectations.
“The country cannot even boast of a single basketball indoor arena”, an incensed fan told basketballghana.com, noting that this has over the years deprived the nation of her ability to host even a single international tournament.
A FIBA licensed referee Gasu cited the massive investment in basketball by Angola which rakes in about 18 million dollars annually as enticement fee and bonuses in their participation towards international competitions.
He stressed the need for Ghana to replicate the Angolan experience by instituting pro-active measures to attract the necessary investment in the sport to ensure its total development.
With all the huge enthusiasm shown by many people in Ghana, the country lacks basic basketball facilities which seem to threaten the very foundation of the sports in the West African zone.
Organisers have tentatively fixed Saturday August 21(14hrs GMT) for the replay of the match involving CEPS ladies and Police before the men’s final between Tema Youth and CEPS takes centre stage.
The government of Ghana, corporate bodies and international organizations should come to the aid of the second most preferred sports in Ghana.
Let keep bouncing the ball in the face of all the challenges.
By: Patrick Akoto
COPYRIGHT WARNING:
Do not copy, redistribute, publish or otherwise exploit information that you download from the site!
Do not encumber, license, modify, publish, sell, transfer or transmit, or in any way exploit, any of the content of the site, nor will you attempt to do so.
