Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) president, Ahmed Musa-Kida has joined the global community in mourning the death of the sport’s world body, FIBA secretary-general, Patrick Baumann.
Kida recounted in an emotional press statement made available to sports247.ng that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) member from Switzerland, who is survived by his wife and two children, gave his best in service to humanity and basketball development.
The 51 year old former player, coach and referee first joined FIBA as a lawyer in 1994 and was appointed FIBA Deputy Secretary General in 1995.
In 2002, he was unanimously appointed FIBA Secretary General by the FIBA Central Board. As such, he became only the third FIBA Secretary General, after Dr. William Jones and Borislav Stankovic.
Baumann officially started his term of office in 2003, a position he held until his death, and Kida says the late Swiss technocrat will be forever remembered by the world’s basketball community.
The NBBF supremo further said Baumann’s death should be a wake up call for all basketball stakeholders in Nigeria that seeing tomorrow is not assured for anybody.
Kida said; “His last correspondence with the NBBF was in September when he sent a letter to congratulate us as the first country to qualify for the 2019 FIBA Men’s World Cup as he looked forward to seeing us in China.”
His words came after Baumann died of a heart attack during the ongoing Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina; where he passed on with sudden illness on Sunday, despite receiving immediate treatment.
He served FIBA as Secretary General for 16 years and became a member of the IOC in 2007.
On his part, FIBA president, Horacio Muratore said:”Patrick was a lot more than FIBA’s Secretary General and an IOC member.
“He was a very close friend of mine as well as to countless people in the basketball family and the wider sport community.
“Under his leadership, FIBA moved forward by leaps and bounds, with the organization modernizing itself to the extent of becoming a model which fellow International Federations followed.”
