NCDABA cries foul

THE Basketball Federation of PNG executives will meet with the PNG Olympic Committee on Sunday to deliberate on an appeal by the NCD Amateur Basketball Association regarding the exclusion of four of its players from the national squad.
NCDABA president Kevin Teme and major sponsor Vonnie Kapi Natto claimed that the players Betty Wong, Elina Yala, Lydia Gotuno and Lyn Unagi, who represented the country at the 2017 Melanesian Championships and took part in last year’s national championships, were not picked for PNG squad for the July’s Pacific Games.
Kapi Natto claimed the BFPNG through its selection of players was inconsistent.
“I want to share my disappointment in the manner used by the Basketball Federation for its selection policies and regulations,” Kapi Natto said.
“Being a sponsor, it discourages me to see that none of my girls who are the current members of the women’s national team that won the Melanesian Cup in 2017 were named in the train-on squad announced after the championship last year.”
Kapi Natto said the four players were registered with the NCDABA and chose to play for that association instead of the PWBL (PNG Women’s Basketball League) which BFPNG claimed they were registered to.
She claimed this had led the federation to not consider them for the national squad.
“NCDABA players Betty Wong and Elina Yala were the players of NCDABA and they stated it clearly that they would not be part of PWBL. As defending champions they wanted to play with their team to defend the title.
“PWBL claimed that Ms Wong and Ms Yala were registered to their league but they are not and they were free to play for NCDABA last year.”
Kapi Natto said BFPNG was in a contradictory position by claiming the reason for the omission of the four was because they were not registered with the NCDABA despite both the PWBL and NCDABA not having competitions last year.
She said it was ironic that her four players had paid a price for their decision to play for NCDABA at last year’s national championships while members of the national squad who are registered to the PWBL actually play in the NCDABA.
“I feel it was not right allowing players that were unregistered, to a club or an association, to play.
“If players are not registered, why allow them to play at the first place? I see that those rules were already being broken by BFPNG and clamping down on innocent players to justify their actions is because of jealousy and hatred and not in the best interest of basketball.”
Kapi Natto said the four players were allowed by BFPNG to take part in the national championships but that their status was only made an issue of after NCDABA made the final.
Teme and Kapi Natto said they had sent letters appealing the omission of the four last year but had not received a response from BFPNG and had resent their appeal this month.
BFPNG president Nick Daroa and his deputy Karo Lelai denied receiving the first appeal letter but declined to comment on the issues until after their meeting with the PNGOC.
BFPNG president Nick Daroa and Lelai however did confirm the receipt of a letter from Kapi Natto on behalf of the NCDABA only last week.
Daroa said the appeal, which had also been copied to the PNG Sports Foundation as well as the PNGOC, would be addressed at the meeting at the Taurama Aquatic Centre over the weekend.
“This is issue between only between BFPNG board and PNGOC,” Daroa said.
Daroa maintained that what had transpired at last year’s national champs had taken place when he and chief executive officer Stephen Damien were in Melbourne, Victoria.
Teme claimed he had sent an appeal letter dated Sept 24, 2018 to Lelai, who is also the chairman of the PNGOC’s Athletes Commission, but was told she had not received it.
“The BFPNG should explain a player’s selection eligibility at any sanctioned tournament and state clearly the criteria for its selection policies,” Teme said.
“The current national team is made mostly of players that do not participate in an active competition that is PWBL and some of these players are now playing in the NCDABA competition.”