Oasis Generation Limited will by soon launch the latest innovation in the game of Basketball in Ghana. Oasis Generation which has in the past organised basketball competitions including the famous 4-day event dubbed “SLAM 4 CHRIST” for 8 Senior High Schools in the Greater Accra Region back in 2006 will in September this year also stage the OG 3-on-3 basketball tournament. For players under 18 years of age, it will also serve as the launching pad for the new game sanctioned by the International Basketball Association (FIBA) to be introduced to Ghanaians.
3-on-3 basketball, better known as street basketball, is not a new game. What’s new is that FIBA plans to make it worldwide with unified rules to be played by national teams of players less than 18 years of age. ‘FIBA33’, the name of this new game, will be launched at the first Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010 in Singapore. 20 boys' teams and 20 girls' squads from as many as 35 countries could compete for medals in the Asian island nation. The rules of FIBA 33 are quite simple. A team consists of four players (three players are on the court and one is a substitute) and one coach. The game is played on a half court, on one basket, in three periods of five minutes each.
According to Joseph Tchintor-Aryeetey, Events Manager of Oasis Generation, the tournament will not only help promote the game in the country, it will also provide the platform for the discovery and development of talented players at early ages for the benefit of Basketball clubs and the nation at large. This is why his outfit will organise the competition in collaboration with the Ghana Basketball Association (GBBA) who will use the occasion to scout players for Ghana’s U-18 national team which will represent the nation in next year’s Youth Summer Olympic Games in Singapore. “We want to help many youngsters who play the game realize that they can actually earn a living by developing basketball as a career,” stated Mr. Tchintor-Aryeetey.
The 4-day tournament scheduled for 9th to 12th September at the University of Ghana is planned to admit 100 teams made up of 4 players each. Registration forms will be put at yet to be advertised vantage points in Accra and Tema for interested Basketball players to pick. Any four people anywhere under the age of 18 can decide to form a team to register for the competition. All registered teams shall be paired against each other to play in knock-out qualification games until the teams are reduced to eight. These 8 teams will then be put into two groups of four teams each for the OG 3-on-3 tournament proper.
Apart from incentives available for the top three teams, certificates of participation will be given to all who participate in the tournament. Awards will also be given to the players who distinguish themselves as the Most Valuable Player (MVP), Highest Scorer, Most Disciplined Player and Most Talented Player. Even the referees and other officials will not be left out which has made the purported costs of staging the 4-day event even higher.
That is why Oasis Generation Head of Corporate Affairs Edwin Narter is encouraging big corporate bodies to support the competition in kind or cash. Mr. Narter says that apart from the benefit of having their companies’ adverts and products displayed at the event in addition to press publicity, any company that supports this project will enter into the history books. “This is the first time this type of basketball is being introduced in this country and all who contribute to its success will always be remembered. They will also help Ghana to be able to introduce the game and select players for the national U-18 team too,” Mr. Narter has revealed.
