LIBERIAN BASKETBALL: WHERE ARE THE BALLERS?

Featured image Liberia Basketball Federation Logo.

Basketball in Liberia has been growing, since 1964.  Although Liberia has not made an Olympic appearance, the country has been to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) African Championship.  This tournament is Africa’s premiere club competition, as FIBA hosts both national and club matches. In 1983, Liberia placed 9th out of 10 teams and in 2007 the team finished in 16th place.

A recent Facebook post has brought Lib Olympic Blog’s attention to the exhilarating sport in Liberia. Mr. Wes Smith, a member of the Ja’BELLEH Sports Mag Facebook group, recently posted some great Liberian basketball news.

I just want to extend the [sic] CONGRATS to the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company – LPRC Oilers for winning the Liberia Basketball Association Championship at the Sports Commission Complex in Monrovia … Let’s continue to keep them in prayers and wish them all the best towards those personal and general team goals.

-Wes Smith, April 18, 2017

Image taken from Instagram @mrwessmith

The Oilers’ victory gives the team and its players greater opportunities and exposure.  A big congrats to the Oilers for a job well done!

From now until 2021, national teams will play to qualify for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the 2021 FIBA Continental Cup. The next three years also creates the grind to qualify for the biggest sports competition on the planet. The Olympics.

Angola is slated to host this year’s AfroBasket tournament from August 19-30, which will move 16 African teams closer to the FIBA Basketball World Cup.  There will be two rounds after AfroBasket that will send the final five African teams to the big Cup.  The best team in Africa will have a direct ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, while the remaining teams have another chance at one of FIBA’s four Olympic qualifying tournaments.

Image taken from http://www.fiba.com/FBWC2019/AfricanQualifiersENG.pdf

Could the Oilers qualify for a club spot at the FIBA African Championship?  Let us dig even deeper. Could Liberia put together a national basketball team comprised of top players from the different local clubs to represent the country internationally?

We definitely believe so.  Share your thoughts with us below.  Visit http://www.fiba.com/africa-champions-cup for more information.