Expert Rosen Barchovski wants to see changes in Seychelles’ basketball |16 February 2018

As from next year, the basketball league could run from October to April, just like in other countries which follow Fiba rules.

After working closely with the Seychelles Basketball Federation and the Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association, basketball expert Rosen Barchovski gave his views yesterday about the changes he wishes to make in Seychelles’ basketball to help it progress.

Speaking to the press in a meeting at Stad Linite, International Basketball Federation (Fiba) expert Barchovski said “the main goal of me being here is to help the basketball federation, while still following Fiba rules, after all, I am a Fiba representative:.

“I’ve visited schools and worked closely with the basketball federation for the past two weeks and I’ve seen firsthand what the difficulties may be. With that said, I have a couple of suggestions that I hope you will agree with. From my short visit I know that people want more from basketball,” said Mr Barchovski.

The Fiba expert explained that according to Fiba rules, the basketball league should start around October and end around April the following year, just like all the other countries that follow the European rules.

He added that the champions should also be determined after playoffs. Another point raised is training ‒ not just for players, but for coaches and referees as well. He explained that to help basketball move forward, using experienced coaches and referees is the best way to do this. He placed a lot of emphasis on youth basketball.

“I’ve visited the schools around Seychelles, and I’ve seen that certain things are lacking like good basketball courts. This makes it de-motivating for kids in schools to play basketball. I suggest that we open a youth basketball programme, that each team has a youth team to train young player. Of course, incentive is needed, so a competition for the youth teams should also be established, for kids aged eight and over,” said Branchovski.

The Fiba expert also spoke about picking the national basketball team now.

“Picking the basketball team now and having them train during the off-season is the best way to build a team that can compete internationally, especially in the Jeux des îles de l’Océan Indien (JIOI) next year. It’s good to get an early preparation,” he said.

Expert Branchovski is set to depart Seychelles in the next week or so, but will be returning around May/June, but thanks to the nine-month programme different experts will be visiting Seychelles, picking up where Mr Branchovski left off.  

Socga president Antonio Gopal and Seychelles Basketball Federation (SBF) chairman Terry Celeste, explained that Mr Barchovski has been working very closely with the local basketball body and has given them tips and ways on developing basketball in Seychelles.  

Rodney Rose