Africa-Press – Liberia. The Federation of International Basketball Associations (FIBA) has expressed serious concerns about age-related issues at the 2024 AfroBasket Zone 3 Championship held in Ivory Coast. The concerns arose following Nigeria’s unprecedented score against Liberia in the women’s category of the competition, where Nigeria won with a record-breaking 90-09 points.
After the match, an emergency meeting was convened at the Palais des Sports in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where the U-18 Championship was held. Liberia Basketball Association (LBA) Secretary General Calvin Diggs attended the meeting and informed the media that key issues discussed included age cheating.
During the meeting, FIBA suggested that every member country should present a proposal on how to address the use of overage players in future competitions. According to a communication from FIBA’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, the result was termed a complete disgrace to the organization.
Meanwhile, both Nigeria’s men’s and women’s teams have qualified for the South Africa 2025 U-19 Championship after triumphing over all participating nations. Ghana defaulted in their match, followed by an 87-58 points win over Liberia in game two, and a 70-60 victory over the host nation in game three before their 108-59 points triumph over Benin on Sunday.
For the women’s team, their 90-09 win over Liberia raised concerns, followed by a 94-23 points win over host Ivory Coast in a best-of-three category on Sunday. The championship concluded on Sunday, August 4, 2024. Host Ivory Coast finished as the second-best performing nation, followed by Ghana and Liberia. Benin finished at the bottom of the group after failing to win a single match in the entire competition.
In another development, the President of the Liberia Basketball Association, Abraham Samukai, congratulated both Liberia’s U-18 men’s and women’s teams following their participation in the 2024 AfroBasket Zone 3 Championship in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The competition was a qualifier for the South Africa 2025 U-19 Championship for FIBA Zone 3 member countries. The 2024 FIBA Zone 3 competition marked Liberia’s first participation since 2007.
LBA President Samukai stated that although the overall results were not what the country expected, the huge win over Benin in the final match on Saturday was something to be proud of. Liberia’s U-18 men’s team defeated Benin 87-58 in their final match after losing three consecutive matches to Ghana (64-56), Ivory Coast (92-61), and Nigeria (82-49).
The women’s team, however, lost two straight matches in the best-of-three category, signaling an early exit. They put up a great fight against the host in a controversial 52-50 points defeat before poorly performing against Nigeria, resulting in a 90-09 points loss.
President Samukai, after witnessing the boys’ final match on Saturday, August 3, 2024, thanked the entire delegation of 37 members. “Job well done on the final day, guys; we will return much stronger in our next competition. It was a great experience for the first time in many years. We had not participated in such an outstanding international tournament for many years. Congratulations once more, and I wish you a safe return home,” said the LBA President.
The Liberian delegation departed Ivory Coast on Monday, August 5, 2024, for Liberia. The team is traveling by road from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro, then to Danane through Nimba County, and finally to Monrovia.
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