The Bulls are back.
And not just in the Premier League.
It seems to be the year of comebacks for Clapham as the former two-time basketball champs are set to return to the women’s league this season following a year-long hiatus from the top flight.
Clapham president Andrew “Cat” Ifill didn’t confirm the report, but a senior executive member of the Barbados Amateur Basketball Association (BABA) revealed that the council had been informed to expect team registration before Sunday’s start to the women’s league.
A source close to the situation said there had indeed been a meeting between prospective players and head coach Barry Rock, at which it was decided that the Bulls would return this season.
It will mark the end of the club’s hiatus from women’s basketball, which came directly on the heels of Clapham winning their second straight league crown.
The break-up of the then champions initially began when Rock decided to take a break from the game heading into the 2013 season, before national players Toni Atherley, Sade Clarke and Jennifer Joseph-Hackett then all decided to suit up for the University of the West Indies Blackbirds.
However, the talented trio aren’t likely to return this season either, having turned down the offer to come back to Clapham, thus leaving Antonia Baptiste as the lone holdover from the 2012 title team set to appear in the orange and black this season.
According to the source, Clapham’s new roster will be made up from the core of the Tigers squad, which was disbanded this season for undisclosed reasons.
The return of the women’s team comes just two weeks after the Bulls won the First Division league title to earn promotion back to the Premier League, where they spent a record 28 straight seasons.
Rock was also head coach of that unit and his departure triggered a similar exodus of the team’s top men’s players that ultimately led to Clapham’s demotion from the top flight in 2013.
Perennial powerhouses Station Hill Cavaliers, losing league finalists UWI Blackbirds, Urban Vybz St John’s Sonics, Combined Schools Hoopsters and Challengers are also expected to field teams for the 2014 season.
