20 April 2007
BOTSWANA : National Championships
by Dorothy Okatch
The long awaited Top 8 games (National Championships) finally took place over the past weekend (March 16 - 17). The tournament has been divided into two parts, the semi-finals will kick off this coming weekend (March 24 - 25) as well as the much anticipated finals. The tournament is being sponsored by the University of Botswana and USN.
The long awaited Top 8 games (National Championships) finally took place over the past weekend (March 16 - 17). The tournament has been divided into two parts, the semi-finals will kick off this coming weekend (March 24 - 25) as well as the much anticipated finals. The tournament is being sponsored by the University of Botswana and USN. The teams that qualified for the finals are as follows according to the order of qualification:
Men's Qualification
1. Troopers
2. Police
3. Spartans
4. Drillers
5. BDF 5
6. Flames
7. Cadets (Defending Champions)
8. Falcons
Ladies Qualification
1. Vixens
2. BDF 5
3. Relics
4. Falcons Ladies
The standings that were used were those from the 1st round of the league due to the event that the second round did not play to an end.
The weekend proved to be a three course meal for spectators as well as players who had an unusual hunger to either play or watch Basketball at its best. The level of play amazed the crowd that rose to oohs and aahs with every move made on the court. On day one of the games (Friday), Troopers took on Falcons, Police played Cadets, Drillers railroaded BDF 5, and Spartans put the fire out on Flames.
Police took on the squad that is well known for their youthful energy, dedication and passion, Cadets. The youngsters put in their all as they tried to stay in the tournament as the defending champions. Police appeared to be strong for them and convincingly beat Cadets with a final score of 41-35.
The Troopers vs Falcons game was the walk over that was expected by all. The veteran Troopers team showed Falcons no mercy at all throughout the whole game. Though Falcons tried to pull a few tricks out of the hat, they were no match for the men in blue. The final score for this game was a merciless 104-65 win for Troopers.
The Drillers vs BDF 5 game came to a close with Drillers taking the win at 83-56.
In their flashing orange and white kits, Spartans had the task of putting out the fire against the Francistown Flames team. The game pulled in a lot of crowd and had every one on their feet. Flames was not a walk over as had previously been thought. They put up a mighty fight against Spartans, but did not have enough fuel to take the game. Spartans put the icing on the cake with two extra ordinary one handed dunks by Mwelwa Sikwila and an additional two handed dunk by their rookie, Ray. Though they totalled three dunks in the game, Flames also had a put back made by their star player from Zambia, George. Spartans won the game defeating Flames with a score line of 64 - 51.
The end of the day results meant that Cadets, Falcons, Flames, and BDF 5 had come to the end of their road for victory.
Day 2
The females then had a chance to show what they are made of. The female schedule had to be adjusted to a round robin tournament as the Selebi Phikwe team, Falcons were unable to make it for the tournament. The first game of the day saw BDF 5 ladies taking on Relics. The game started off extremely slowly for Relics and they lagged 20 points behind at one point of the game. Relics, full of players who are either beginners, have just left the high school league, and a few experienced players, put the steam on in the 2nd half. With the guidance of their highly skilled coach, Roy Sikwila, the team managed to close the lead in the last quarter. The final score was in favour of BDF 5 however at 50-48. Relics is to take on the Vixens ladies next weekend.
In the men's games, Spartans played a spectacular game against Police. Throughout the league, Police have proved to be a needle in the foot of the Spartans team as they never won a game against them. However, lady luck seemed to be on their side as they played with their all and defeated Police with a score line of 50-33.
With two minutes left, two point difference in the Troopers vs. Drillers game, the lights decided to go off. The game has been postponed to mid week. May the best team win.
Top scorers for the weekend were,
Men
1. Ratanang (Troopers) - 41 points
2. Arthur (Drillers) - 41 points
Ladies
1. Diana Mberengwa (Relics) - 21 points
The long awaited Top 8 games (National Championships) finally took place over the past weekend (March 16 - 17). The tournament has been divided into two parts, the semi-finals will kick off this coming weekend (March 24 - 25) as well as the much anticipated finals. The tournament is being sponsored by the University of Botswana and USN.
The long awaited Top 8 games (National Championships) finally took place over the past weekend (March 16 - 17). The tournament has been divided into two parts, the semi-finals will kick off this coming weekend (March 24 - 25) as well as the much anticipated finals. The tournament is being sponsored by the University of Botswana and USN. The teams that qualified for the finals are as follows according to the order of qualification:
Men's Qualification
1. Troopers
2. Police
3. Spartans
4. Drillers
5. BDF 5
6. Flames
7. Cadets (Defending Champions)
8. Falcons
Ladies Qualification
1. Vixens
2. BDF 5
3. Relics
4. Falcons Ladies
The standings that were used were those from the 1st round of the league due to the event that the second round did not play to an end.
The weekend proved to be a three course meal for spectators as well as players who had an unusual hunger to either play or watch Basketball at its best. The level of play amazed the crowd that rose to oohs and aahs with every move made on the court. On day one of the games (Friday), Troopers took on Falcons, Police played Cadets, Drillers railroaded BDF 5, and Spartans put the fire out on Flames.
Police took on the squad that is well known for their youthful energy, dedication and passion, Cadets. The youngsters put in their all as they tried to stay in the tournament as the defending champions. Police appeared to be strong for them and convincingly beat Cadets with a final score of 41-35.
The Troopers vs Falcons game was the walk over that was expected by all. The veteran Troopers team showed Falcons no mercy at all throughout the whole game. Though Falcons tried to pull a few tricks out of the hat, they were no match for the men in blue. The final score for this game was a merciless 104-65 win for Troopers.
The Drillers vs BDF 5 game came to a close with Drillers taking the win at 83-56.
In their flashing orange and white kits, Spartans had the task of putting out the fire against the Francistown Flames team. The game pulled in a lot of crowd and had every one on their feet. Flames was not a walk over as had previously been thought. They put up a mighty fight against Spartans, but did not have enough fuel to take the game. Spartans put the icing on the cake with two extra ordinary one handed dunks by Mwelwa Sikwila and an additional two handed dunk by their rookie, Ray. Though they totalled three dunks in the game, Flames also had a put back made by their star player from Zambia, George. Spartans won the game defeating Flames with a score line of 64 - 51.
The end of the day results meant that Cadets, Falcons, Flames, and BDF 5 had come to the end of their road for victory.
Day 2
The females then had a chance to show what they are made of. The female schedule had to be adjusted to a round robin tournament as the Selebi Phikwe team, Falcons were unable to make it for the tournament. The first game of the day saw BDF 5 ladies taking on Relics. The game started off extremely slowly for Relics and they lagged 20 points behind at one point of the game. Relics, full of players who are either beginners, have just left the high school league, and a few experienced players, put the steam on in the 2nd half. With the guidance of their highly skilled coach, Roy Sikwila, the team managed to close the lead in the last quarter. The final score was in favour of BDF 5 however at 50-48. Relics is to take on the Vixens ladies next weekend.
In the men's games, Spartans played a spectacular game against Police. Throughout the league, Police have proved to be a needle in the foot of the Spartans team as they never won a game against them. However, lady luck seemed to be on their side as they played with their all and defeated Police with a score line of 50-33.
With two minutes left, two point difference in the Troopers vs. Drillers game, the lights decided to go off. The game has been postponed to mid week. May the best team win.
Top scorers for the weekend were,
Men
1. Ratanang (Troopers) - 41 points
2. Arthur (Drillers) - 41 points
Ladies
1. Diana Mberengwa (Relics) - 21 points
# posted by afrbk : 18:51
