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Financial controversy strains LABA final
– issues force third postponement
By Edison Jefford
Just a week after an informant had confirmed that a communication problem forced the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) to postpone its basketball summer festival final, a financial problem has again strained the event.
The group responsible for the promotion of the tournament, Elite Promotions Incorporated, had informed Kaieteur Sport on two separate occasions last week that the final was set for Saturday last at the Mackenzie Sports Club court in Linden.
However, the much–anticipated event between Linden’s foremost first division teams: Kashif and Shanghai Kings and Wismar Pistons, was not played according to the promoters’ information. When contacted yesterday, LABA General Secretary, Joe Chapman said that ‘finance’ was the problem that led to Saturday’s postponement.
An alleged communication problem and then the unavailability of Kings two weekends ago were cited as reasons for the two previous deferrals of the tournament.
“The problem is finance but we will be meeting tonight [last night] to decide on where we are going with this tournament,” Chapman informed.
Saturday’s cancellation marked the third time that the final was annulled in three weeks. The event was previously set for September 7 then September 13. This newspaper had sought information on both cancellations independently.
An official of Elite Promotions: Ryan Hilliman had a different version of Chapman’s claim of financial problems yesterday; he said that the LABA wanted the final to have enough time to advertise and attract patrons. “The LABA prefer the tournament to have a proper base to advertise,” he said, while confirming last evenings meeting with the LABA.
In addition to the time to advertise, which Hilliman gave as “two weeks”, the Elite Promotions official said that Kings wanted further details of the final in writing. “What we gave them was not enough to satisfy Kings,” he said.
A source told this newspaper that the National Communications Network (NCN) in Linden had reported sometime last week that Kings had refused to play in the final. The source, however, did not give the reasons in the NCN report.
But a senior member of Kings and LABA Organising Secretary, Abdulla ‘Zico’ Hamid made it clear yesterday that the promoters never informed the team about Saturday’s final.
Hamid said that if indeed the promoters are claiming that his team was refusing to play then Kings will now demand an apology since that is fallacious. He also took umbrage with the NCN report that claimed they were refusing to play.
“I am the LABA’s Organising Secretary, I am supposed to know when the final is but they never told us when the final will be played. If the promoters said that we are refusing to play, then they must apologise because that’s not the case,” Hamid asserted.
The source confirmed that the problems with the tournament are exclusively financial. “Monies have to be lodged so that the tournament can proceed. If that is not done then the tournament cannot proceed,” the informant told this newspaper.
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