Basketball: Tribute match for Daniel Victor |22 August 2022

Crowd surpasses expectation in honouring Daniel ‘Yellow’ Victor

The Victoria Gymnasium was packed to capacity on Friday evening as a huge crowd turned up for the tribute match to honour ex-PLS Hawks and Seychelles international player Daniel ‘Yellow’ Victor who left us last month following a road traffic accident.

An initiative from a group of players, with the backing of the Seychelles Basketball Federation (SBF), the match featured PLS Hawks against members of the national selection which won the country’s first and only gold medal at the Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG) in 2011 on home soil.

Yellow was also part of the selection which defeated Mayotte in the final to keep the gold medal home.

According to Faizel Naiken, a member of the organising committee, the turn-out exceeded their expectation and in total they collected R22,037.00 from the sale of tickets and through donations.

The fund was donated to Yellow’s family.

Mr Naiken said the event showed that simple ideas can bring a lot in the life of others, while such initiative can be used to assist past and present players who are in need.

He added that the tribute match further showed that sports can really bring a nation together and the SBF should see it as a stepping stone for assisting players in the future.

In terms of honouring players, Mr Naiken said the federation can name some of its competitions after players who have contributed greatly toward local basketball.

Roland Duval