By BRENT STUBBS
Senior Sports Reporter
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
WITH some unfinished business from the 2019/20 season that was interrupted because of COVID-19, the New Providence Basketball Association is scheduled to resume its postseason play starting on Thursday at the AF Adderley Gymnasium.
League president James Price, however, advised the public that everybody wishing to enter the arena must present a negative COVID-19 testing, whether they are fully vaccinated or not.
“Normally our start time is in November, but some teams had the interest of their sponsors and they wanted to finish what they started,” Price said. “So that’s why we considered it. We will give them what is due to them. We will start our new season probably in October, rather than November. So this will be a good test for us to see how we can cope with having a full season again.”
The Division II best-of-three match-ups will be played between the YES Giants vs the Asphalt Maintenance Resistance and Shell Rockets vs the Leno Eagles Nest.
Division One will feature the Commonwealth Bank Giants vs the Breezes High Flyers and the Discount Distributors Rockets vs the University of the Bahamas Caribs.
With teams who have lost some players, Price said they are allowing each team to adjust their roster where they can include up to four new players who would not have participated in the 2019/2020 season.
“They would have eight players from their old rosters, but the four players they wish to add, could not have played on any team in the league during the season,” Price said.
Price said once there is not another variant of COVID-19 coming to the Bahamas, they will go full steam ahead with their season.
He noted that after a two-year hiatus, they are all eager to see the ball being jumped again in the gym.
“We sit down and look at all of the crime happening. If the young fellows don’t have anything to do, they say idle hands will lead to mischief,” he said.
“So if we can get back playing basketball, they can have something to do other than sitting on the blocks and getting into mischief.”
He noted that everybody is excited to be able to play basketball again.
From Thursday to Sunday, the NPBA will play a pair of division II and one match-ups to determine who will advance to the best-of-five championship series that will begin on Sunday, February 8.
• Here’s a look at the matches on tap each night:
Thursday
7pm - YES Giants vs Asphalt Maintenance Resistance (Div. II)
8:30pm - Commonwealth Bank Giants vs Breezes High Flyers (D1)
Friday
7pm - Shell Rockets vs Leno Eagles Nest (DII)
8:30pm - Discount Distributors Rockets vs University of the Bahamas Caribs (D1)
Saturday
7pm - Asphalt Maintenance Resistance vs YES Giants (DII)
8:30pm - Breezes High Flyers vs Commonwealth Bank Giants (D1)
Sunday
4pm - Leno Eagles Nest vs Shell Rockets (DII)
5:30pm - University of the Bahamas Caribs vs Discount Distributors Rockets (D1)
Thursday, April 7
7pm - Shell Rockets vs Leno Eagles Nest (DII)
8:30pm - Discount Distributors Rockets vs University of the Bahamas Caribs (D1)
Friday, March 8
7pm - YES Giants vs Asphalt Maintenance Resistance (DII)
8:30pm - Commonwealth Bank Giants vs Breezes High Flyers (D1)
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