Pretoria - The Petro de Luanda's coach, José Neto, lamented on Tuesday, in Pretoria, South Africa, the withdrawal of Dynamo from Burundi, in the Kalahari Conference of the African Basketball League, for extra-sports reasons.
Speaking to ANGOP, due to the withdrawal of the Burundian team from the continental competition, he stated that it is a complicated situation, as each country has its own profile, identity and philosophy of action.
“For sport, this is sad. A good team like Dynamo not playing because of these issues is tough, but we have to respect the decisions and deal with the consequences”, he said.
The champion of Burundi, with whom Petro was supposed to play this afternoon (12), was removed from the competition, in accordance with FIBA rules, due to two withdrawals in the same tournament, for refusing to use equipment with advertising about Rwanda.
Burundi and Rwanda are experiencing political differences, assuming that the decision is linked to this factor.
Dynamo, one of the five debuting teams in the competition, played just one game, in which they beat the hosts Cape Town Tigers, 86 -73, in the 1st round.
The event organization's statement regarding the matter clarifies that the Kalahari Conference games will be played as scheduled, now with just three teams. WR/VAB/MC/CF/DOJ
