The Initiator of Mark D Ball Basketball Championship, Mark Igoche has hailed Kwara Falcons’ bravery as the team crashed out of the Basket Africa League (BAL).
Making their continental debut at the BAL, the Ilorin Based team and Nigerian Champions, failed to win any of their five games in the competition.
In a message to the team, Igoche described their continental outing as superb, magnificent and majestic as he insisted that the team’s performance shouldn’t be about results but experience gained.
“I salute the bravery of Kwara Falcons, Nigeria’s representative at BAL. Your outing was superb, magnificent and majestic,” Igoche said. “As a player and a lover of the game, I was thrilled by your performance, as results matter less when compared to the experience gained.”
The statement berated the lack of domestic basketball in Nigeria for years, which in turn has affected the team’s output.
“Sadly, the lack of domestic games in recent times played a huge role in the outcome of results at BAL,” Ogoche added. “The team could have done better if the domestic league of basketball was still alive, as it would have provided that competitiveness before going to BAL.”
“Since the last Mark D Ball Championship, no competitive game as been played which would have made the team form that synergy among the players.You did well in the continent, but we have failed in the aspect of developing the game locally.”
“In your opening game against Rwanda Energy Group, you fought back from a 12-point deficit in the second quarter to tie 31-31 in the early third quarter.This singular action shows that we have the potentials that need to be refined.”
“The New Face of Basketball is proud of your prowess, especially taking the fighting spirit displayed in last year’s Mark D Ball Basketball Championship to the continent. This will further spur us to do more for domestic basketball in Nigeria,” Igoche concluded.
