MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — After what they described as a “successful first staging”, the organisers of Arise Basketball League (ABL) are set to tip off their second season on October 18, with at least 12 teams expected to take part.

In the absence of competition under the umbrella of the Western Basketball Association (WBA) interested parties decided to take the bull by the horn and organised an independent league which ended in January with Montego Bay Boys Club beating Cricket Club Knights by a single point in a thrilling final at Montego Bay Cricket Club.

Clubs taking part in the second season are set to play for a $500,000 prize as well as the championship trophy and championship rings that were awarded last season for the first time in the local game.

With the experience gained from last season’s initiative, ABL, led by 24-year-old President Nyame Frater and includes mostly current and former players on the board, is hoping to grow the organisation and attract sponsorship.

Frater told the Jamaica Observer in an interview that their short-term goals are to expand the league.

“We are hoping to have a good season, a great tournament. We’re hoping to get more exposure for Arise Basketball League,” she said. “We’re hoping that season two goes off without any form of hiccup, that we can get the recognition that we need so we can get sponsors on board next year and maybe expand into more parishes.”

Registration, she said, was to close on Friday, October 10, and based on feedback they were expecting participation from clubs in St Ann, Trelawny, and St James.

She said ABL is currently independent and is not seeking to replace the WBA, but would seek to become a registered company as well as hold affiliation with the national governing body, the Jamaica Basketball Association.

Like most of the members of the board, Frater admitted she has limited experience in organising a league. She said issues which arose during the previous staging have provided the experience that will help them to have a smoother season.

“I didn’t start Arise as the president,” Frater said, explaining she had been invited by one of the organisers to become the secretary.

“As someone who always loves basketball growing up, I said yes, because basically basketball was dead in St James at the time. So I really appreciated the move that they were trying to make so I accepted the invitation and last week in preparation for this season, I was elected as president,” she explained.

After what she said was a slow start to the inaugural season, the word got out and they started to get a bigger turnout of fans who had not been able to watch local clubs compete.

Rayon Gardner, ABL’s director of operations, said that ahead of the start of the season they received interest from a number of clubs, including last season’s winners Montego Bay Boys Club Warriors, Brown’s Town Eagles, Muschett, Jamaica Defence Force, Jaguars, Cricket Club Knights, Hoopers, Coral Gardens Raptors and Catherine Hall All-Stars.

He said games are scheduled to be staged at Montego Bay Cricket Club and Harmony Park on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.