National Basketball Team Calls Local Federation to Resign, Blames Charbel for Ongoing Bottleneck

The Lebanese national basketball team called on the local federation to resign over its failure to follow up the team's mission upon its arrival at Beirut International Airport.

The basketball team was forced to return home from the Philippines where it was due to undergo a preparatory training camp for the Asian Championship before the FIBA had suspended Lebanon's membership, preventing the country's team from participating in global tournaments.

Speaking during a press conference, the team's coach Ghassan Sarkis said the team was abandoned “as the head of the basketball federation was rarely communicating with us via the Whatsapp mobile application and was only giving promises that turned out to be no more than pipe dreams.”

“The Soviet Union collapsed and world’s leaders were ousted under pressure.  I do not understand how the federation doesn’t step down after undergoing all this pressure and despite all the clubs disapproval of its performance,” Sarkis said.

Labeling the incumbent federation’s performance as “amateurish”, Sarkis called for the formation of a new one that is trustworthy and homogenous.

Moreover, he urged the formation of a transitional committee tasked with meeting with competent sides, seeking necessary clarifications and devising solutions.

Sarkis blamed caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel for the ongoing bottleneck after he had requested the postponement of a game that was set to take place between Amchit and Champville clubs.

Amchit claimed they weren’t informed in an official letter about the date of the fourth game of the league’s quarterfinal series against Champville which had been scheduled for May 7, 2013, after it was postponed following Charbel’s request.

“There should be an uprising,” he said. “We want reform starting tomorrow … We want a new horizon. We will exert utmost efforts to reverse the FIBA's decision before the upcoming Lebanese league kicks off”, Sarkis stressed, noting that contacts will be carried out with all local factions in order to search for appropriate solutions.

“We are not seeking to wage "destructive" battles, but rather "constructive" ones that would lead to what is best for the basketball game in Lebanon,” Sarkis concluded.

As for the team captain Fadi al-Khatib, the latter said that “if the cost that we should pay in order to improve the basketball game in Lebanon is to abandon both Asia and World Championships, then let it be”.