President of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) Trevor Rose has expressed his disappointment at the way the sport is being treated and has called on the relevant authorities to look into this matter.
“Never before have I seen the sport of basketball being treated in such a way and I am greatly upset at this now. I am disappointed to say the least and for the police to intervene and stop a game before such has even commenced is definitely an embarrassment to the sport.”
Rose was referring to the non-commencement of the grudge match between Dyna’s Ravens and Courts Pacesetters at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) Sunday night, as manager of the CASH Basheer Khan prevented the game from being played through the intervention of the police.
“This facility is being managed by the National Sports Commission (NSC) and I have never heard of the police who are there for the safety of the patrons, preventing a game from commencing. This is questionable, as I have been to basketball games that went later than this, and neither the manager nor the law enforcement officers present has ever stopped same from commencing.”
“Such an act was an embarrassment to basketball, the players, the fans as well as the promoter who would have invested a lot of money into this promotion. From an executive point of view, I would like to see better being done for the sport of basketball and if we are doing so from our end, then I am calling on the relevant authorities to intervene and do their part,” Rose said.
He further stated, “The game of basketball should be treated with a level of respect and not in no haphazard way … and this needs to be done as early as possible, not only for the sport, but the development of same.”
Not only was Rose as well as the promoter of the game Colin Mack angered, but fans of the sport who chose to remain anonymous, echoed their call for the development of the game by the relevant authorities.
“We have been to the CASH on numerous occasions for the Supligen All Star Weekend, where matches were bouncing off after midnight. The only difference between tonight and then is that this game was starting a bit late, but with the rain pouring cats and dogs outside, it would have been in the best interest of the fans to play the game,” an angry fan said.
“Games such as this one are not only vital to the promoter but also the clubs and players involved as much bragging rights follow. The hype and publicity behind this game is another thing that should have been taken into consideration. Get it done and over with is the perfect solution.”
