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St. Kitts – April 17, 2025 — In what can only be described as a humiliating slam dunk on his own Sports Minister, Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew has launched an extravagant, taxpayer-funded NBA-studded basketball camp in his home constituency of St. Peters, while the country’s national basketball facility at Basketball City remains abandoned and dilapidated — despite earlier promises of a major renovation.

Back in February, Minister of Sports Samal “Silent Samal” Duggins proudly posed for photos at Basketball City alongside Public Works personnel, theatrically removing the old court cover to signal the start of a long-promised upgrade. That moment was hailed as the beginning of a revitalized national basketball complex — with a new roof, improved infrastructure, and completion promised before the start of the basketball season in March.

Fast forward to mid-April, and not a single nail has been driven. The court sits idle. No workers. No construction. No signs of life. Just empty promises and abandoned hopes for the country’s athletes.

Enter Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew. While his Sports Minister twiddles his thumbs, Drew has quietly upgraded the basketball facility in St. Peters to host a high-profile, four-day basketball camp featuring NBA royalty:

• Juwan Howard – NBA Champion, Brooklyn Nets Assistant Coach, and Michigan Fab 5 legend
• Antawn Jamison – Two-time All-Star and 6th Man of the Year
• Makhtar N’Diaye – Head of Pro Personnel for the Dallas Mavericks
• Armand Massogo – International NBA Development Clinician

The camp, hosted by the Prime Minister’s Office, will launch on April 19 at the newly upgraded St. Peters Hardcourt, with a glittering opening ceremony, all-star exhibition game, and SKNABA Junior Finals. Camps and 3v3 tournaments will run through the weekend, entirely concentrated in the Prime Minister’s constituency.

The outrage from the basketball fraternity is palpable.
“How can this be called a national camp when it’s clearly a political stunt?” one coach lamented. “We have one national facility, and it’s been abandoned. Why are these global legends being funneled into one community like this is a Constituency #8 rally?”

The sentiment is echoed across the sporting community:

• Why weren’t sessions held at Basketball City, the country’s national basketball home?
• Why wasn’t at least one clinic hosted in Nevis to involve the entire federation?
• Why is the entire event being treated like a St. Peters promo run for the Labour Party?

The reality is harsh: sports development across the federation is being crippled by Minister Duggins’ incompetence, and PM Drew’s latest move is a glaring indictment of that failure. By taking matters into his own hands — again, as seen with the Conaree Playfield and now St. Peters court — the Prime Minister has made it clear: he doesn’t trust his own Sports Minister to deliver results.

Yet this self-serving tactic has not gone unnoticed. Critics are blasting Drew for using state resources to deliver premium sports infrastructure and exposure only within his voting base, while the rest of the country — especially the once-proud Basketball City — is left in the dust.

This wasn’t just a basketball camp. It was a political statement.
And the message is clear: “If it’s not in Constituency #8, it doesn’t matter.”

#BasketballCityNeglected #SamalDroppedTheBall #DrewOnlyDeliversFor8 #NationalCampOrLabourPR? #SKNBasketballDeservesBetter