Liberia men's national basketball team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Liberia women's national basketball team.

Liberia
FIBA rankingNR (2 December 2025)[1]
Joined FIBA1964
FIBA zoneFIBA Africa
National federationLBF
CoachAdam Sackor
Olympic Games
AppearancesNone
FIBA World Cup
AppearancesNone
FIBA Africa Championship
Appearances2 (1983, 2007)
MedalsNone
Home
Away

The Liberia national basketball team is the national basketball team representing Liberia. It is administered by the Liberia Basketball Federation.[2] Its last qualification to the FIBA Africa Championship dates back to 2007.[3] Its most noteworthy international performance was in 1983 when Liberia finished among Africa's 10 elite basketball teams.[4] According to the website, Afrobasket.com, the Liberia National Basketball team has not been in existence since 2013.[5]

History

Basketball in Liberia began to grow in popularity during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly in Monrovia, where local leagues and school tournaments helped establish the sport.[6] The national team made its first appearances in international competition under the banner of FIBA Africa during the late 1970s.

Liberia’s most notable participation came in the FIBA Africa Championship 1983, held in Cairo, Egypt. The tournament marked the country’s debut on the continental stage, and although Liberia did not advance past the early rounds, the event provided valuable experience and exposure for Liberian basketball players.[7]

During the civil conflicts of the 1990s and early 2000s, basketball activity in Liberia was severely disrupted, with many domestic competitions suspended and the national team unable to regularly compete in qualifiers.[8]

In the post-war period, the Liberia Basketball Federation (LBF) focused on rebuilding the sport through grassroots development, organizing the national league in Monrovia and restarting youth programs.[9] Although the senior men’s national team has yet to re-establish itself as a regular participant in the AfroBasket tournament, Liberia continues to take part in regional competitions and FIBA Africa qualifiers, with the long-term goal of returning to continental prominence.

Current squad

Team for the AfroBasket 2007.[10] (last publicized squad)

Liberia men's national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
4 Stephen Kollie 19 – (1988-08-14)14 August 1988 Invincible Eleven
G 5 Samson Nyonno 32 – (1975-04-06)6 April 1975 NPA Pythons
6 Stuart Koffa 21 – (1986-02-24)24 February 1986 NPA Pythons
7 Sam Gbollie 24 – (1982-12-25)25 December 1982
8 Jonathan Krah 35 – (1972-04-18)18 April 1972 NPA Pythons
9 Vernon Gbotoe 19 – (1988-04-01)1 April 1988 Dream Team (Liberia)
10 Patrick Tugbe 21 – (1985-10-15)15 October 1985 Invincible Eleven
11 Harold Mulbah 25 – (1982-01-13)13 January 1982
G 12 Phillip Flomo 19 – (1987-12-19)19 December 1987 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) NPA Pythons
13 Raymond Kromah 17 – (1990-06-29)29 June 1990
14 Desmond Wesseh 25 – (1981-09-04)4 September 1981
15 Ryan Yakpah 23 – (1984-02-04)4 February 1984
Head coach
  • Adam Sackor
Assistant coach(es)
Theodore Suah
Legend
  • Club – describes last
    club before the tournament
  • Age – describes age
    on 15 August 2007

At the AfroBasket 2007 in Angola, Raphael M. Quaye played most minutes and recorded most assists and steals for Liberia.[11]

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench Bench 3
C
PF
SF
SG Samson Nyonno
PG Harold Mulbah J Wellington Barchue Jr

Notable players

Other current notable players from Liberia:

Liberia men's national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club
G Prince Williams 27 – (1992-08-22)22 August 1992 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Rethymno Cretan Kings B.C.
Legend
  • Club – describes current club
  • Age – describes age
    on 13 January 2020

Competitive record

Summer Olympics

yet to qualify

World championships

yet to qualify

FIBA Africa Championship

Year Position Tournament Host
1983 9 FIBA Africa Championship 1983 Alexandria, Egypt
2007 16 FIBA Africa Championship 2007 Angola

African Games

See also: Basketball at the African Games
  • 1965-2003 : Did not qualify
  • 2007 : 11th
  • 2011-2015 : Did not qualify

Past rosters

1983 FIBA Africa Championship: finished 9th among 10 teams

2007 FIBA Africa Championship: finished 16th among 16 teams

John Bing, Jethro Bing, Varney Tulay, Marcus Wolo, Fitzgerald Cole, Alphonso Kuiah, Raphael Quaye, Francis Fayiah, Alvin Tapeh, Mark Smith, Joseph Lackey, Richelieu Allison, Cephus Solo, Meshach McBorrough, Samuel Assembe (Coach: Allan Jallah)

See also

References

  1. ^ "FIBA World Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  2. ^ "FIBA.com: Profile – Liberia". Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  3. ^ "archive.FIBA.com: 2007 FIBA Africa Championship for Men". Archived from the original on 7 September 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  4. ^ "archive.FIBA.com: 1983 FIBA Africa Championship for Men". Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  5. ^ "Afrobasket". Afrobasket.com. 2020.
  6. ^ "Basketball development in Liberia: A sport on the rise". FrontPage Africa. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Looking back: Liberia's first appearance at AfroBasket". FIBA. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  8. ^ "Liberian basketball struggles amid conflict". AllAfrica. 1 August 2001. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  9. ^ "LBF launches new league to revive basketball". FrontPage Africa. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  10. ^ Liberia | 2007 FIBA Africa Championship for Men, ARCHIVE.FIBA.COM. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  11. ^ Liberia | 2007 FIBA Africa Championship for Men, FIBA.COM. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.