Basketball
BASKETBALL LEGEND, CHARLES BARKLEY TO SELL 1996 OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL
BY DUNCAN MACKAY.
Charles Barkley, one of the most recognisable names in basketball, has announced he plans to sell the Olympic gold medal he won at Atlanta 1996 as part of a major sale of memorabilia from his career to help pay for new houses for the disadvantaged in the town he grew up in.
But the American revealed he will not be selling the gold medal he won at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona as part of the revered United States “Dream Team” because his daughter asked him not to.
“Because of how sentimental it is for the world,” Barkley, who is now 57 and a television analyst, said during a radio interview in Alabama.
“But all of that other stuff, man, is just an eyesore.
“I
don’t think I have to walk around with my gold medal or my MVP (most valuable
player) trophy for people to know I’m Charles Barkley, so I’m going to sell all
that crap.
“That just clutters my house.
“I used to keep it at my grandmother’s house, but they all passed away, and I don’t want that stuff crapping up my house.”
Barkley claimed that he has been told by one expert that the MVP trophy he won during the 1993 National Basketball Association season when, playing for the Phoenix Suns, he averaged 25.6 points on .520 shooting, 12.2 rebounds and a career high 5.1 assists per game as they reached finals, could fetch between $300,000 (£230,000/€265,000) and $400,000 (£310,000/€350,000).
He did not reveal how much he had been advised the Olympic gold medal, won by the US when they beat the FR Yugoslavia 95-69 in the final, could fetch.
In 1992, Barkley led the “Dream Team” in scoring 18 points per game on 71 percent shooting, despite starting just half of the eight games.
A US flag signed by the original Dream Team at Barcelona 1992 is also among the items that Barkley plans to auction.
Barkley promised during one interview that all the money he raised from the sale of the items would be used to build new houses in Leeds in Alabama.
Barkley claimed he was the first black baby born in a segregated town hospital in Leeds and was among the first black students at his elementary school.
“We probably got 30 eyesores, as I call them, where houses used to be when I was growing up,” he said during an interview.
“Either a rotted-out house or there’s just weeds that have overgrown.
“So, what I’m trying to do – I want to work with the city of Leeds, I want them to give me the spaces, number one.
“I want them to give me the houses, and I’m going to use my own money selling my memorabilia.
“I want to do something really nice for Leeds.
“And if I could build 10 to 20 affordable houses – I want to do green housing too
[and]
if I could sell all that stuff, it would just be a really cool thing for me.”
Earlier this month, an Olympic gold medal won by the US basketball captain Bill Wheatley at Berlin in 1936 was put up for auction.
The medal has been placed with Heritage Auctions’ Winter Platinum Night Sports Auction and it is estimated it could raise as much as $60,000 (£46,000/€55,000).
In 2015, the gold medal awarded to Wheatley’s team-mate Carl Shy was sold at auction for $66,000 (£51,000/€61,000).
-insidethegames
In preparation for the Chief of Defence Staff Independence Day Basketball Championship, Brigadier General Aliyu Abdullahi (rtd), Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee, has highlighted the objectives of the event.
According to him, it is aimed at fostering Civil-Military cooperation and Inter-Agency collaboration.
The championship, set to take place from October 2 to October 6 at the Mo Arena in Abuja’s Zone 5, aims to engage Nigerian youths positively and contribute to enhancing security through a non-kinetic approach.
He emphasized the importance of the competition in providing a platform for Nigerian youths from across the country to participate in a constructive activity. He noted that the Chief of Defence Staff, General C.G. Musa OFR, a passionate basketball player himself, believes that organizing such competitions can help cultivate the interest of Nigerian youths in the sport.
Additionally, it offers them a legitimate means of livelihood and the opportunity to showcase their talents on the international stage, thereby bringing accolades to Nigeria.
The championship will feature 16 teams representing the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, promising an exciting display of basketball skills and teamwork.
Brigadier General Abdullahi expressed confidence that the competition will not only promote sportsmanship but also serve as a deterrent against negative behaviours such as crime, drug abuse, and other forms of delinquency among the youth.
Petro de Luanda Becomes First Sub-Saharan African Team to Win BAL Finals (BAL.NBA.com); Libya’s Al Ahly Ly Forward Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. Named 2024 BAL Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year.
Angola’s Petro de Luanda this Sunday defeated Libya’s Al Ahly Ly 107-94 to win the 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Championship, which took place at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda and reached fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages. Petro de Luanda, the 2022 BAL runner-up and one of two teams to have participated in all four BAL seasons, is the first sub-Saharan African team to win the BAL Finals after previous champions from Egypt and Tunisia.
Following the game, BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall and President of FIBA Africa Anibal Manave presented Petro de Luanda with the BAL Championship Trophy and Al Ahly Ly forward Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. with The Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy for winning the 2024 BAL Most Valuable Player Award and The Dikembe Mutombo Trophy for winning 2024 BAL Defensive Player of the Year.
Petro de Luanda went 5-2 during the Kalahari Conference group phase in Pretoria, South Africa, and the Playoffs, defeating Senegal’s AS Douanes and South Africa’s Cape Town Tigers in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, to advance to the Finals. Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers defeated the Cape Town Tigers 80-57 in the third-place game yesterday.
Lual-Acuil Jr. is also the 2024 BAL Scoring Champion and was named to the 2024 All-BAL First Team and All-BAL Defensive Team after leading Al Ahly Ly to a 5-4 record during the Nile Conference group phase in Cairo, Egypt, and the Playoffs, recording per game averages of 21.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.
Several former NBA players attended games throughout the 2024 BAL Playoffs and Finals, including BAL Ambassadors and NBA Africa investors Luol Deng (South Sudan), Ian Mahinmi (France; ties to Benin) and Joakim Noah (grandfather from Cameroon); 2015 NBA champion Festus Ezeli (Nigeria), and New York Knicks President of G League Operations Pops Mensah-Bonsu (Ghana).
The BAL has also announced the 2024 Coach of the Year, Sportsmanship Award winner, All-BAL First Team, All-BAL Defensive Team, and Ubuntu Award winner. The voting panels varied for each award and were comprised of fans, coaches, team captains, media, broadcasters, and scouts.
2024 BAL Coach of the Year
Rivers Hoopers head coach Odaudu Ogoh led his team to a third-place finish with a 6-3 record during the Sahara Conference group phase in Dakar, Senegal, and the Playoffs.
2024 BAL Sportsmanship Award
Rivers Hoopers point guard Will Perry received The Manute Bol Trophy for exemplifying the ideals of sportsmanship and camaraderie. Perry was also named to the 2024 All-BAL First Team.
2024 All-BAL First TeamPositionPlayerTeamPoint GuardWill PerryRivers HoopersGuardSamkelo CeleCape Town TigersGuardChris CrawfordUS MonastirForwardJo Lual-Acuil Jr.Al Ahly LyForward / CenterAliou DiarraFUS Rabat Basketball
2024 All-BAL Defensive TeamPositionPlayerTeamPoint GuardSouleyman DiabateAl Ahly LyGuardSamkelo CeleCape Town TigersGuardAbdoulaye HarounaAS DouanesForwardJo Lual-Acuil Jr.Al Ahly LyForward / CenterAliou DiarraFUS Rabat Basketball
2024 BAL Ubuntu Award
AS Douanes guard and team captain Alkaly Ndour won the 2024 BAL Ubuntu Award in recognition of his ongoing efforts to use the game of basketball to positively impact the lives of youth in his native Senegal. Ndour is the founder of “Kayelennioufo” (which translates to “Let’s have fun”), a basketball tournament for nearly 250 amateur players in his home neighbourhood of Bopp in Dakar. Ndour was presented with the 2024 BAL Ubuntu Trophy during an on-court ceremony on May 25 in conjunction with Africa Day.
Nigeria’ Rivers Hoopers beat Rwanda’s Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) 78-71 in the first-ever BAL (https://BAL.NBA.com) double-overtime game and became the first Sahara Conference team to clinch a spot in the BAL Playoffs which are set to tip off at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda on May 24.
Five Hoopers players scored in double digits with Devine Eke (18 points, 18 rebounds) and Peter Olisemeka (17 points, 19 rebounds) dominating the boards as well. Will Perry added 11 points and seven assists in a low scoring affair in which both teams shot less than 40 percent from the floor.
Jean Jacques Nshobozwabyosenumukiza led APR with 16 points and five rebounds, while Dario Hunt finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. Going into today’s matchups, APR is currently second in the Sahara Conference and will look to secure a postseason berth when they take on Senegal’s AS Douanes (4th place with 2 wins and 3 losses) this evening.
In the second game of the day, the 2022 BAL champions Tunisia’s US Monastir kept their playoff hopes alive, defeating AS Douanes 75-69 and getting their second straight win in the competition. This is a turnaround for the Tunisian champions who started the Sahara Conference from three straight defeats, but now stand one win away from the postseason. Chris Crawford led Monastir with 18 points and seven assists, Oussama Marnaoui scored 16, and Firas Lahyani finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Abdoulaye Harouna led the Douanes with 22 points, with Adama Diakhite adding 14 points and nine rebounds.
APR, AS Douanes and US Monastir will compete for the last two playoff spots when the Sahara Conference concludes this afternoon – Rivers Hoopers will take on US Monastir at 2:30 p.m. GMT and AS Douanes will face APR at 5:30 p.m. GMT.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Basketball Africa League (BAL).
Basketball Africa League (BAL)
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