JAMAICA Basketball Association (JaBA) president, Ajani Williams, who in recent times has endured calls for his resignation and defended his administration over the extremely long delay in the start of the National Basketball League (NBL) season, told the Observer that despite the lag, it will be worth the wait.

With the league an entire season behind schedule, a number of teams have criticised the JaBA boss and his executive. Meanwhile the calls for him to step down are being led by Southern Conference president Calvin Martin, who has accused Williams of not being interested in the sport, while expressing disappoinment that the constant postponments have frustrated the teams.

However, in an interview this week, Williams said he has secured a three-year deal which will be marked by a 50 per cent increase in the sponsorship package.

He said his association recently signed ageements with prospective sponsors — two old partners and a new one, plus a new media partner, along with the Jamaica Observer and KLAS FM.

“We had to take our time and try to get a very good contract because it’s not easy negotiating between sponsors, media partners and JABA to get the right agreement…

“Now we’re trying to finalise the TV (deal), and I don’t anticipate too many problems there, but once we close off on that I think this should be the best NBL ever,” he declared.

“Now we’ll have some type of security for the next three years, so each year the clubs and players can know when they league will start, without this type of insecurity year after year,” he added.

Williams said he and his team will now assess what needs to be done before making the next move, which would be a media launch.

“We have to have a few more meetings before we can have a final decision, but it won’t be until the end of January before the launch,” he noted.

In defending the late start to the tournament, Williams said the NBL was operating at a loss and JaBA needs to be earning a profit if it intends to fully run its organisation.

He said with 27 teams in the NBL, they needed to raise more money, as they cannot afford to continue operating at a loss.

“It’s hard to take money from a league that is already running at a loss; to fund your Women’s League, your Youth programme, referee and coaching programmes,” he insisted.

With this new deal, Williams says JaBA will be turning a profit that will go a far way in addressing its other obligations.

“The teams now have to know that progress has been made and… that a late start is better than no start or a bad start…,” he said.

He said there should be significant improvements to the prize monies and start-up funds that will be distributued to each team in the league.

Meanwhile, Gordon Porter, the manager of former champions and perennial contenders Urban Knights, echoed the sentiments expressed by most clubs.

Porter insisted that the delay has proved very costly for the teams who have tried their best to maintain their training regimes during the period. On the other hand, he said players have become disheartened and frustrated with the constant postponements.

“It has been very expensive to organise and hold training sessions and that has pushed us way out of our normal budget. At the end of the year a lot of our players became disheartened and frustrated, although we managed to get them remotivated and refocussed,” he said.

Porter estimates that this year’s package will be worth in the region of $10-$13 million, but believes it will take a good $20 million to sufficiently run the league.

“I think that a deal of about $20 million would be the kind of deal that would make such a long wait worthwhile… but hopefully, the increase will be reflected in significantly improved prize money,” he said.

Williams, meanwhile, says he is aware of the frustration of the clubs: “I know it is tough for them having to work so hard and long without no league, but with no money the league can’t go on,” he argued.

“… I think they’ve been fairly patient and I appreciate their tolerance and I believe everything will pay off,” he said.