BAL happy to have Nigeria back – Amadou Fall

Basketball Africa League President Amadou Gallo Fall was a guest of the Nigeria Basketball Federation President Engr Musa Kida when the Premier League Final-8 Playoff tipped off in Lagos on Monday.

The BAL boss who joined Musa Kida by the court side as Kano Pillars squeezed out a 55-53 win over the Police Baton says it’s a great relief to welcome Nigeria back to the African league.

The Nigerian playoff which ends on Saturday at the Nationa Stadium is essentially to select the country’s representative to the 2022/23 season playoffs in Kigali, Rwanda. Nigeria was booted out of the last BAL playoff over deliberate political interference in the running of the NBBF Board which ran against the FIBA rules of engagement and association.

Fall who spoke after the buzzer said the absence of the Nigerian team was regrettable.

“Nigeria is going to be always missed in Africa in whatever competition as the most populous nation on the continent. You know we have a long history with the athletes and administrators here in basketball; you know that BAL and indeed Africa has so many good friends in the basketball fraternity here. There a lot of people active in the game and leadership internationally from Nigeria.

“Definitely Nigeria was missed.

“I am glad that we are back here and glad to see the country move in the right direction in term of having unified front, ultimately that’s what we want. We all have the same objectives of growing the game of basketball and bringing all people who can contribute to come in and shoot in the same basketball.

“We have been here for some days on this trip; you know we have an office here (in Nigeria) and with Gbemisola Abudu as the NBA Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria. So I think now, we will work confidently now and we can bring a lot to the federation and be so ambitious. In reality basketball can grow bigger in Nigeria and expectedly the entire basketball system in Africa.”

BAL playoff has just one club representative from each country but Amadou Fall says it is not the final structure yet. There’s still room for expansion.

“We know really where we are heading. We are looking at system for better ways to improve the product. We have just started and this season we introduced something new in selecting the teams for the final playoffs. This is not the final structure. This is not how it is going to be for instance in five years to come. We are building up gradually.”