Caribbean Sports Network

GOVERNMENT funds promised for basketball coaches and players on the national team and also to cover other expenses by the National Basketball Federation of Trinidad and Tobago (NBFTT), are expected be received tomorrow. General secretary of the basketball federation Kelvin Roberts and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs Ashwin Creed gave that assurance on Friday.

However there is still uncertainty about close to $30,000 claimed by Brian Manning, the former NBFTT president who quit the post several months ago.

PS Creed said the delay in distributing the funds was because the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs had to wait until funds were released from the Ministry of Finance.

“The funds were sent to the Sport Company on Thursday and by next week Monday monies should be distributed to the people to which it is intended,” Creed said.

He noted that he did not know how much money was given by the Government but he said that approval was given for payment to the international basketballers because of potential loss of earning while on national duty.

Asked about claims by Manning as re-imbursement for what he spent on the national team leading up to the regional Centro Basket tournament, Creed said that no approval was given for that.

Approval, he stated, was also refused for stipends for locally based players on the national team at the Centro basket competition staged in the Dominican Republic..

He said that he did not know that money is owed to Manning since the Government paid all expenses for the team’s hotel stay. Government, he added, also paid for live-in camps at the Alicia’s Guest House and another in Mayaro, which were held to prepare the teams for the Centro Basket tournament.

“It is also my understanding that monies for the teams at the Centro Basket tournaments were paid in full by the organisers there,” Creed said.

However he said that if Manning did dip into his pockets, then it would be reinbursed to him on the presentation of bills to prove the expenditure.

Creed also dismissed claims by the locally based players for stipends saying that Government does encourage this practice. “If we do this then we would have had to pay stipends to all the swimmers and footballers etc. What they get is a per diem- which is money given to each player on a daily basis for the duration of a tournament,” Creed said.

“And this per diem is usually given by the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC),” he said.

Yesterday Roberts said that players, both local and internationals, kept calling him about what they claimed was owed to them.

But he gave the assurance that once the funds are received from Government, then the players will be called by the basketball federation and their stipends honoured.