It is time for the quarterfinals at the Beijing Olympics. Olympics are the biggest stage for the sport of basketball. Africa has one spot of qualification. Of course Angola is representing the men division and Mali surprising represent women.
Vision2008 was a programme with good intentions by South African Basketball. It was launched at the same time as the new brand image of BasketballSA. The image was to distinguish basketball from other sports particularly boxing federation commonly referred to as BSA. The launch was pretty exciting especially when one thought about the positive development of basketball. I remember vividly that there were talks in the corridors about the new national league which was to be sponsored by the third mobile operator. Of course those were just rumors.
A question arises as to what stopped the Vision2008 from being achieved. The basic answer would be that the national team did not perform according to expectations. However I would not see South Africa beating Angola out of the blue and qualify for the Olympics. Perhaps the strategy of the authorities was to get FIBA to vote on have two African teams as representative in the Olympics. It is quite easy to listen to South Africans since the country is well developed as compared with other countries in Africa. Our country is also economically sound.
Nonetheless it is unthinkable that FIBA would agree to such a proposal seeing that South Africa does not have a professional league. It would be taking the organisation back to 1989 when they passed a motion to have professional players to participate in the Olympics. That is a cool 19 years back. Even with the good intentions they had, the basketball authorities' argument would be taking the sport back.
It is critical for the Professional Basketball League to resume. The league will give youngsters an opportunity to showcase their talent in a competitive environment. This environment is crucial for the strong competition that athletes face at the African qualifiers for world events such as the Olympics. There is no shortcut to becoming a competitive nation. The PBL is the only solution for South Africa to represent Africa by participating in the Olympics.
About Me
- Setlogelo
- Basketball is my sport. I live for it. So does the many men and women who were ever involved in the sport, as athletes,officials, owners of teams, and supporters. So does everyone who is involved with the sport, one way or another at this moment. I have aspired to become a player, I have aspired to become a manager in basketball. At the moment I do as much as I can to ensure that there are competitive games for those who aspired the way I used to. However it is practically impossible to reach your dreams when there is a ceiling above you. The unavailability of a proffessional league in South Africa is that ceiling. I do not have to ask what happens to the athletes in the high school basketball leagues, or students at Universities who look forward to the SASSU Games for good competition. There are some good athletes who have given their lives to basketball. But in life, one has to make money, a lot of money to live and establish a good legacy. I have started my company Candor cc with a view to find ways of assisting Premier Basketball league to reclaim its position in the South African Sport. Last but not least, I love basketball! Don't we all?
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