The duo of Shehu Bamidele and Aderibigbe Adegbite will be representing Team Nigeria as the West African country makes a debut in the Joy Heyball Masters Division One Tour 3, which commences on 20th August in Shijiazhuang, China.
Bamidele won the Nigeria qualifier, organised by the Snooker and Pool Players Alliance of Nigeria (SPPA) in conjunction with Fiji Ventures Limited in June, to compete in the Joy Heyball Masters Division One Tour 2. But could not make it due to delay in the issuance of entry visa into China where the city of Lanzhou hosted the tournament.
As a compensation for the missed opportunity, the host of the international cue sport event, Joy Billiards Sports Promotion Company decided to offer Nigeria an additional slot through a follow-up qualifier organised by the SPPA in July which Adegbite won .
Nigeria will now present two of her top players who are making their first international appearance in a Heyball tournament as they are due to leave the shores of the country this Thursday.
According to SPPA President, Idada Joachim, the alliance is committed to reimaging the sport.
” We remain committed to creating a viable platform that offers credible opportunities for talent discovery and development.
“There is a five-year development plan to get at least five of our players to play in international events. And we are on course”, he said.
In the last two years one of the top players of the SPPA, Christopher Abiodun has represented Nigeria in tournaments hosted in Dubai and Singapore.
