LIKE THOSE luckless Third Division teams, Derrick Garrett just couldn’t stop Warrens from dominating lower level basketball.
The Barbados Amateur Basketball Association president said his council had no means to prevent the star-laden side from registering in the division as the club broke none of the playing rules in relation to eligibility.
Garrett’s comments came just days after Warrens romped to a 23-0 season to capture the Third Division league title with the nucleus of the squad that won the 2012 Premier League crown.
“I don’t think there is much you can do about it unless we restructure our player eligibility from next season,” Garrett said.
“We can’t prevent players from registering where they want to play but what I can say is that their decision rules them out from making the next national team as there is a clause that national players have to play in their club’s highest division to be eligible for selection.
“Outside of barring players from national duty there is very little we can do from discouraging star players from registering in the lower divisions,” he added.
It was the major talking point of the just-concluded season that saw former national players Peter Alleyne, Zahir Motara, Pearson Griffith and Kevin Austin appear in the Third Division just one year after teaming up to win the Premier League title.
Their initial intent was to win the division and gain a spot in Intermediate where the club could groom young players for its top flight outfit.
Warrens easily executed that plan, thrashing every single opponent by double digits in a division that provided no competition for the Premier League-calibre side.
“I think it doesn’t do a lot for the game,” said Garrett of Warrens obliterating the league.
“They should be playing at the highest level [because] they are not old players by any means, but again we can’t dictate where they should be playing when they pay their money.
“Right now I am trying to work out some changes we can make to the playing rules in terms of eligibility but that all depends on if I am elected president again next year,” he said.
Multiple sources within Warrens have indicated the club doesn’t plan to return a Third Division team for next season, and those star players will either appear in Premier League or quit basketball altogether.
