Novena Basketball Club to sign two Americans ahead Mark D Ball Championship
By
Abdulgafar Oladimeji
The Management of Novena Heartland Basketball Club of Owerri, has declared that it is looking to beef up its team, ahead of Round of 16 phase of the 2022 Mark D Ball Men’s Basketball Championship, to be staged in Abuja.
The Chief Executive Officer and Proprietor of the club, Osita Nwachukwu made this declaration while revisiting the performances of the side in the last qualifying phase of the Championship, which he said was the biggest tournament, his players have been exposed to.
Nwachukwu, a factional NBBF Vice president, also hinted that he may go for a Centre and Shooting Guard, who are Americans, but of Nigerian descent adding that he is the owner of Novena Queens, as well.
“I also own Novena Queens, which is the women’s basketball team. Through both teams in Owerri and Abakiliki we have discovered a good number of talents in the South East. But coming to play in Abuja was a good step up. It gave the guys good exposure.
“Under the watch of Igoche Mark, the NBBF has resolved never to allow the domestic aspect of our basketball to suffer from inactivity, any more.”
The Captain of Novena Heartland, Chinedu Precious Asogwo rated his side’s participation at the preliminary phase of Mark D Ball as the toughest competition the side has played in.
The player who stands at 6ft 5 Inches, also assured that they will work on their strength and stamina while consolidating on the strong points that aided their qualification to the Round of 16.
“I train Novena Heartland in both its Camp in Owerri and Abakaliki, where I also assist my father in his Pharmacy Store. We had just three weeks to prepare, and during that time I was down with food poisoning and thought I won’t be able to make the team. But because Basketball is all I have for now, somehow I recovered, and was selected to lead the team”.
In his reactions, the newly recruited Coach Achu Kingsley Kelechi said his passion lies with working with relatively unknown players which gives him joy as he helps nurture them to stardom.
He shuttles between Owerri and Abakaliki, where the team operates two training camps.
The coach also reserved special praise for his employer Nwachukwu for being very supportive and doing his best to prioritize the welfare of the players, while giving them much-needed exposure, and career opportunities.
“My confidence that we will cope very well in the next phase of the championship, stems from the confidence of my players, who told me when we were to embark on this trip that competing against elite players and beating the big boys will be fun”.
