Defending NBL champions eager to retain trophy
Published:Sunday | May 7, 2023 | 1:36 AMOrane Buchanan - Staff Reporter
DEFENDING NATIONAL Basketball League (NBL) champions St George’s Slayers will look to retain their title when the island’s top-flight basketball league tips off later this month.
Head coach of the Slayers, Rohan Robinson, who is yet to have his full complement of players in training, believes the squad will be in good stead in the coming weeks as his top players are active in the ongoing Social Development Commission (SDC) Community League.
“We haven’t started training as yet for the NBL because most of our players are actually playing in the SDC Community League, so they’re pretty much active. So within the next two weeks, training will start but our players are already in shape,” Robinson shared.
The league, which was halted for the past three years ‘thanks to’ the COVID-19 pandemic, is expected to be highly competitive with the 10 participating teams going through significant recruiting to bolster their chances.
Robinson, who says his players are excited about the league’s restart, believes his team has an advantage.
“Everyone was elated about it and was asking if it was true and for real, and I said ‘yes’. Thanks to the Social Development Fund (SDF), who came back on board and assisted with the restart of the league. The St George’s Slayers is always a competitive team and I think that we can defend our title, so we are looking forward to that. Also, most of our players went deep in the recently concluded Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball League, but we have to be organised while being in shape and work in a system,” he believes.
STEPPING STONE
The St George’s Slayers commander-in-chief believes that because the NBL is a competitive league, players should take it more seriously and use it as a stepping stone for future tournaments.
According to the veteran leader, many players have not played well in other competitions because of the absence of the NBL in previous seasons.
“The NBL is supposed to be a stepping stone and promotional league on towards the Pro League, which is like the Elite 1 leagues. So, I think it will help to make the transition easier for the players because seeing it right now, for the last three tournaments that we have in the Elite 1 league, most of the players really struggle with that.”