The Bank of Valletta and the Malta Basketball Association yesterday signed an agreement whereby BOV will, for the next three consecutive basketball seasons, (2006/2007, 2007/2008 and 2008/2009), sponsor the MBA 1st Division Knock Out competitions for men and for women, as well as the Mini Basket sessions held in Naxxar.
Through this agreement, BOV will also be deemed by the MBA as one of the main Official Partners of the association.
Upon signing the agreement, Charles Borg, Executive Head at the CEO’s Office, said that Bank of Valletta was pleased to see its long standing relationship with the MBA extended for a further three years. “The BOV Knockout Competition is one of the main competitions featuring in the annual basketball calendar and, through this new agreement, we are ensuring that the competition will continue to be organised for the coming three years,” said Mr. Borg.
He went on to say that support towards local sports forms an important pillar of BOV’s Community Programme. “BOV is amongst the leading sponsors of sports in Malta with its sponsorship of the football national leagues and the basketball knockout competitions together with the mini basket programme”.
He said the Bank had invested over Lm250,000 of its profits in several sectors, including sports.
Magistrate Antonio Mizzi expressed his satisfaction at having reached this important sponsorship agreement with Bank of Valletta. “The Malta Basketball Association’s long-standing relationship with Bank of Valletta – over 30 years except for a short period of three years – was an important factor in reaching this sponsorship deal that will be very beneficial to the Association’s activity especially with regards to its new strategy that is being adopted by the MBA. In fact, we are viewing this three-year sponsorship as an important one not only because of its long term prospects but also because it will be actively supporting our work with the younger generations of basketball players.”
Dr Mizzi added “the success currently being enjoyed in the area of female basketball is no coincidence. We are investing a lot of resources in order to ensure the upbringing of new talent. In this regard, the association has started to place more emphasis from a technical point of view on the younger generation of basketball players. Our Basketball Unit headed by Leonard Falzon is welcoming schoolchildren on a daily basis and this helps to foster a greater interest in this sport. Such initiatives are only made possible through the active support of institutions like Bank of Valletta. I am more than confident that with our ongoing efforts and with the new talent that we have already produced, basketball in Malta is expected to go through a substantial improvement.”
The MBA president also said the association is proud to have three girls and three boys playing abroad. Christine Grima is at Stelle Alpine in Rome, Josephine Grima and Antoinette Borg are at Priolo, though the latter plays for Siracusa.
The boys are Lee Ross who is in his second season at Stelle Alpine. Luke Camilleri and Anton Asciak are at Ragusa since September.
Mag. Mizzi also said that the MBA is also well aware that one of its younger players, 16-year-old Samuel Deguara, seems to have a very bright future. “His height – 2.19 metres is not only an asset for the player himself, but shows that Maltese basketball has a brighter future, considering that there are two other youngsters, already over two metres tall,” he said.
Magistrate Mizzi confirmed that as from this season, the finals of each competition will be played on separate days, instead of being held on the same day. He also said the draws for the competitions will be made in January.
The MBA president said the MBA will not be represented next year at the Small Nations Games in Monaco. “There is no women’s competition this time, while we have been advised by the national coach that the men’s team has not registered any progress with regard to experience and therefore it would be a pure waste of time and resources to send the team to compete,” he said.