Basketball in Africa

Mulwana (left) jubilates after Sparks won the ladies’ crown

By Aloysius Byamukama

Falcons Invitational
Men’s final
Marines 104 UCU 94
Women
Sparks 65 Gazzelles 46
Third place
Miracle 94 Warriors 81 (Men)
Lady Bucks 100 UCU 62

LOCAL basketball league champions Nkumba University Marines pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the Falcons Invitational Tournament to beat UCU Canons in an entertaining final.

The remarkable 104-94 victory at the Lugogo Indoor Stadium on Sunday secured Marines their maiden title in the annual tournament.

The Mukono side had taken an early 29-13 first quarter lead with four consecutive trademark dunks and a triple three pointers from Phillip Odour and Jeff Omondi (31 points) respectively.

Marines were however not to be outdone, and came back strongly to reduce the deficit to nine points at half-time.

In the third quarter, Carol Bisereko, Boniface Okello, and foul-troubled star Norman Blick dominated the paint for a 25-13 score, instigating wild cheers from the fans.

Bisereko collected 9 rebounds and 24 points, MVP Salim Ali had 5 steals, 6 assists and 13 points, while Blick had made 5 assists and 23 points before he fouled out in the last minute.

UCU faded as Eric Nyamai, Robert Mugabe and Ivan Enabu fouled out in the last two minutes as Marines hanged on.
The ladies’ final turned out to be a more straightforward affair.

Olivia Mulwana (10 points) and Vick Nassolo (19 points) inspired Makerere Sparks to a 65-46 win over Burundi’s Les Gazzelles to win their maiden women’s accolade.

However, Gazzelles’ Florence Kalume (22 points) was the biggest winner.
Voted MVP, she also won an air ticket to Addis Ababa for a holiday from sponsors’ Ethiopian Airlines, who were represented at the closing ceremony by reservation officer Minah Ssali.

# posted by afrbk : 15:31  4 comments

Results
Marines 104-92 UCU Canons
Sparks 65-46 Les Gazelles

Past winners

2004
Lady Bucks (Women) Falcons (Men)
2005
Lady Bucks (Women), APR (Men)
2006
Sprite Storms (Women), Ulinzi (Men)
2007
Mak. Sparks (Women), Marines (Men)

“WHAT did I tell you? We are better than these guys,” Nkumba Marines captain Boniface Okello bragged after their dramatic 104-92 win over Uganda Christian University (UCU) Mukono Canons in the finals of the Falcons Invitational Tournament Sunday night at Lugogo Indoor Stadium.

Canons had earlier on Friday beaten Marines 103-93 in the preliminaries of the tournament, a loss that prompted Okello to say they would beat their opponents in the finals. “We shall get their trick and beat them. Actually we shall meet in the final and revenge,” Okello disclosed then.

And the National Basketball League defending champions, who had not beaten Canons in three meetings, did not disappoint.
They recovered from a 20-point deficit with five minutes inside the second quarter to become the first team to beat UCU since September 2006. Canons, still unbeaten in the league after 11 games, last lost to Makerere in the utl inter-university gala.

Canons looked like they were going to roll over Marines with seven unanswered points including a Phillip Odur (8) slam dunk and three-pointer by Robert Mugabe (10) in the game’s first minute.

DRIBBLING KING: Marines’ Salim maneuvers his way to the hoop in the final of the Falcons Invitational. Photo by Ismail Kezaala

By the end of first quarter, the Mukono side was leading 29-13 and most Marines fans had started cursing their gods. Five minutes into second quarter Marines were trailing 25-45 and some of their fans lost hope and walked out of the stadium.

But after a timeout Marines played a full court pressing game, forcing Canons into errors, and reduced the deficit to 40-49 at the end of the session.

Two minutes into third quarter, Marines took the lead 58-56 and never looked back. Foul-troubled Norman Blick (23 points) was rested in the third but played for eight minutes with four fouls in the last quarter before being ejected. Carrol Bisereko was the best Marines player on the night with 24 points and 10 assists but Salim Ali (12 points and 15 assists) was voted MVP.

Geoffrey Omondi grabbed 31 points including seven three-pointers while Ivan Enabu added 18 for Canons. As the game got tense in the last session Blick, Enabu, Eric Nyamai and Odur all fouled out.

Makerere Sparks, struggling in the league, in the meantime routed Burundi’s Les Gazelles 65-46 to take the women’s trophy. Vicky Nassolo (19), Marion Nakaziba (10) and Becky Ndibalekera (8) dominated the post, closing down the rampant eventual MVP Florence Kalume (23).

Kalume will travel to Addis Ababa for a one-week holiday courtesy of Ethiopian Airlines. Monitor Publications, Rwenzori, Asiatic Sports and St John Ambulance were co- sponsors.

# posted by afrbk : 15:00  0 comments

The Arts Faculty of Agostinho Neto University is a victory away from becoming the males basketball champion in play-offs games.

Last weekend, in the two games played, the Arts Faculty defeated Jean Piaget University by 73-65 and 76-95, respectively, and they become champions in case they win the third match this up coming Saturday.

Agostinho Neto University's Science Faculty occupied the third position by defeating in the two games the Economy Faculty, 70-46 and 73-46, respectively.

Angola's Private University (UPRA) is the titleholders.

# posted by afrbk : 15:00  0 comments

The North American male basketball team Globetrotters arrived Sunday in Angola where they will show to the public some basketball spectacular skills, in the ambit of the African Championship (Afrobasket) that will take place on August 15-25 in Angola.

According to a source from the CasaReal sports events promoter, another US team will arrive this Monday in the country for games against the Globetrotters.The two teams come to Angola at the invitation of the Afrobasket organising committee and the CasaReal.

# posted by afrbk : 14:58  0 comments

By Dann O’were

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Lions humiliated Strathmore University 103-59 in a one-sided Premier League basketball match at Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium.

Lions roared to a 29-12 margin in the first quarter and, despite a strong Strathmore charge in the second, the bankers still managed a 25-18 edge at the breather.

After resumption, Lions’ supremacy went a notch higher as they buried shots after shots upon the bewildered heads for 74-43 third quarter cushion.

In the last quarter, Strathmore had nowhere to hide as KCB built a huge 56-point advantage before Abel Nson’s three-pointer gave the victors a 101-53 score line.

Tobias Onyango led Lions’ points rush with game high 28 points while sharp shooting Nson added 16. For the losers, Emmanuel Odhiambo shot 18 and Paul Nyakinda 11.

International Christian Centre beat Java Warriors 69-49. The clueless Warriors trailed 19-39 at the break, with Maurice Ochieng making 13 points and Nelson Njau 11. Timothy Odhiambo bagged 10 for the losers.

Telkom’s good run was halted when they succumbed 66-77 to Lomboritz. Chash Kyalo managed 21 points and Chalo Kituyi 17 for Lomboritz. Ancette Wafula hit 21 points and David Maina 12 for Telkom.

Michael Opinga scored 12 points to lead Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology to a 65-57 win over Nairobi Pentecostal Church. Radhi Ndalu scored the losers’ 11.

# posted by afrbk : 09:43  10 comments

Angola's national team of basketball scored Sunday its second win in the Borislav Stankovic cup taking place in China, after beating Venezuela 94-54.

Angola led the score all along the match, winning the four periods of the game: 20-19, 23-15, 27-11 an 24-9.

In its opening match of Saturday, the Angolan team that is currently in preparation for the African Cup of Nations, in August this year, at home, beat New Zealand 67-55.

The African champion's next encounter will be on Tuesday midday (Angola's time) against Slovenia.

The FIBA Borislav Stankovic cup is designed for continental winners.

# posted by afrbk : 17:36  3 comments

ON FOURS: Nkumba Marines’ Norman Blick leaves Falcons’ Francis Tumusiime on the floor during the Falcons Invitational Tournament. He could not save his team from defeat against Canons Photo by Ismail Kezaala.

Results
Falcons 88-68 Baptist
UCU Canons 103-93 Marines
Gazelles 56-62 Sparks
Warriors 89-86 G.Eagles
Yoday
Final

IF NKUMBA Marines don't devise a special strategy, they are surely losing their spot as the country's number one basketball team. The Marines have failed to beat counterparts
Uganda Christian University (UCU) Mukono Canons in three meetings, the recent being Friday night at Lugogo Indoor Stadium where they lost 93-103. One wonders if they can break the jinx soon.

Though both teams made the semis of the Falcons Invitational tournament and could meet in the finals today, Canons on Tuesday proved they are the team to beat to the championship. Kenyan Eric Nyamai picked a game high 21 points and nine rebounds while countryman Phillip Odur gathered 14 points, four rebounds and three blocks plus a big dunk at the buzzer.

Though Marines are known to terrorize other teams, Canons have now reigned over them thrice. They beat them in the utl inter university league last year, national league first round and now the Falcons tourney.

“There is nothing special that helped us beat Marine tonight. They are just like any other team. When they ran we ran, when they slowed it down we did the same. And maybe playing hard that was the only trick,” Canons head coach Jason Melh said.

Norman Blick had a bad start, failing to score in first quarter and his team high 19 points, seven steals and four rebounds couldn't save the Marines.
“One day we shall get their trick once and they will be finished, Ask Power. Actually we shall meet in the finals and revenge,” warned Marines' captain and league MVP Boniface Okello, who collected 10 points.

Becky Ndibalekera scored 16 points and picked four rebounds as Makerere Sparks shocked Burundian outfit Les Gazelles 59-56, to book a place in today's final.
Ethiopian Airlines, Monitor Publications, Rwenzori and Asiatic Sports are sponsoring the event.

# posted by afrbk : 17:34  0 comments

The national senior males basketball team debuted this Saturday with a win at the Stankovic Cup, being held in China, by beating New Zealand by 67-55.

By halftime, the Angolans, African champions, were behind by 25-30.On Sunday, the eight tomes African champions play against Venezuela, in a second round encounter.

# posted by afrbk : 15:23  0 comments

Results
Miracle 80-74 Eagles
Marines 129-36 Baptist
Warriors 77-72 Miracle
New Star 99-94 Eagles

Women
Sparks 59-56 Bucks

Today at Lugogo
Les Gazelle v Mak Sparks
Warriors v Green Eagles
Falcons v Baptist
Marines v Canons
Miracle v New Star

NATIONAL Basketball League giants Miracle will be the first team to bow out of the ongoing Falcons Invitational Tournament if they lose to Burundi's New Star today.
The Rubaga-based side Tuesday night showed character when they beat Zambia's Green Eagles 80-74 but faltered in their second game 75-79 against Warriors yesterday.

On Tuesday they held their nerves and defended a narrow lead to win the tension-packed game against the Zambians. With 15 seconds to the end and scores at 76-72, Edward Bongomin (17) completed a four-point play, sending Ugandan fans into frenzy. Obert Mureza had a game high 25 points and eight rebounds for the visitors.

Miracle though failed to produce the same form yesterday. With Burundi's New Star having beaten Green Eagles (Zambia) 99-94 later yesterday, Miracle are now on the brink of elimination.

If Warriors beat Zambia's Green Eagles, they will make the semi-finals. Makerere University Sparks upset women record champions Lady Bucks 59-56 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile Norman Blick (left) scored a season high 43 points as Nkumba Marines whitewashed Kenya's Baptist 129-36. It was the biggest defeat in the history of the tournament. The Marines take on UCU Canons at 6 p.m. tonight.

# posted by afrbk : 14:12  0 comments

Nkumba Marines' Norman Blick (right) drives past Kenya Baptist's Eric Maosa in the Falconsl invitational tourney

By Aloysius Byamukama

FALCONS INT'L TOURNEY
Men
Marines 129 Baptist 36
Canons 80 Falcons 67
New Star (BUR) 82 Warriors 80
Women
Gazelle (BUR) 58 Canons 55
Today
Warriors v Miracle 12pm
New Star v Green Eagles (ZAM) 2pm
Canons v Bishops (KY) 6pm
Falcons v Marines 8:00pm
Women
Canons v Lady Bucks 4pm

NATIONAL basketball league champions Nkumba Marines yesterday registered the highest score at the Falcons basketball tournament. They walloped Kenya�s Parkland Baptist Centre 129-39 at Lugogo.

Norman Blick made a record 43 points while Carol Bisereko added 18 for Marines while Baptist�s Rodney Genga made nine in a one-sided Pool A game.
On Tuesday, hosts Mogas Falcons had a faulty start following a 80-67 loss to rivals Uganda Christian University (UCU) Canons.

Reliable Henry Malinga�s absence (injury) could easily be noticed with the Mukono side taking a commanding 54-28 half time score. Eric Malinga made 14 of his 21 points in the last two quarters and Frances Tumusiime made 10 for Mogas Falcons.

Adams Njoroge and Herbert Akitah shared 30 points for Canons, as Jeff Omondi made 10 before he was fouled out.

Kyambogo Warriors lost 82-80 to Burundi's New Star in a game they should have won by a good margin, if charity-line-shy Nelson Wafula had not missed a dozen free throws in the last minute.

In the women's category, Sorrine Kamukazi's last second three pointer sealed Burundi's Les Gazzelle'es 58-55 win over Uganda 's UCU.

The tournament that ends on Sunday, is sponsored by Mogas, Rwenzori, British Airways and Asiatic sports.

# posted by afrbk : 15:13  0 comments

The Nigeria Women team who led group-B of the Games beating Senegal at the group stage of the Games last week were

downed by the more determined Lioness leading the Kevin Cook tutored Nigerian Ladies by 37-28 at half-time.

Angola won the bronze medal beating fellow South African neighbour Mozmbique to the third place, while its male counterpart

defeated Egypt in the final by 56-50 points to retain the gold medal it won four years ago in Abuja, Nigeria. Nigeria men team settles for the bronze beating Mali.

The Nigerian contingent are due back Tuesday aboard a chattered flight.

# posted by afrbk : 14:10  0 comments

The Rookies side with such young player as Peter Odia, kid brother of University of Oregon and Nigeria international point guard, Churchill Odia were in sparkling form against their bigger opponent with halftime scores at 12-11 in favour of the Police College, Ikeja-based Mark Balogun tutored Rookies team.

The Balogun boys came into the third and fourth quarters with superior skill, more resilient and purposefulness which gave them a second half score line of 21-16 points for a cumulative score-line of 33-27.

Baby Seals showed superior understanding of the game to defeat a more agile Hawknets side in the final.

The Wale Aboderin girls won the last three quarters (10-06, 10-04 and 17-11) except the first won by Hawknets (07-13) for a cumulative score-line of 44-34 to emerge as the first female champion of the Champions Nest league.

Flamers took won the male third place match at the expense of Hawks by 43-39 points while University of Lagos female team defeated their Police Rookies counterpart for the third place female title.

Aboderin praised the efforts of the organizers for putting together a league for non-national league teams and an opportunity for younger players to develop.

# posted by afrbk : 16:22  0 comments

By Dann Owere

Kenyatta University lost their eighth Premier League tie in a row when they fell 53-70 to leaders Co-operative Bank of Kenya at Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium.

Co-op, who have played eight matches and collected 15 points, led 37-30 at the break. At the start of the last quarter, the bankers cruised to a 52-35 margin.

The stylish Horace Nyadera led Co-op with 16 points while Cliff Ochieng and Musa Odari each nailed 10 points. Griffin Ligare and Phil Dinga had no answer for Co-op salvos.

Yana shot to the top of womenÕs table with an easy 85-38 win over Catholic Dream Team (CDT). Yana have now amassed 11 points.

Judy Akoth and Ruth Wasike were the victorsÕ toast with each posting 15 points in that one sided match. CDT had 13 points apiece from Anastasia Njeri and Everlyn Itabo.

Telkom prevailed 93-81 against Mennonites in a high scoring Divison One match. Ancette Wafula scored 27 points, David Maina 167 and Geoffrey Abuya 14 for Telkom.

In an earlier match, Wafula tossed in a record 44 points that included seven three pointers against Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (Jkuat).

Ronnie Ojuang hit 11 points and Radhi Ndalu added 10 as Nairobi Pentecostal Church hit Don Bosco 51-43.

# posted by afrbk : 12:28  0 comments

Results
KIU 62-47 Rhino
Livingstone 56-57 Najja
Vegeteraian 47-46 Lions
Women
Leopards 79-35 Amazon

AFTER five successive losses, Kampala International University (KIU) finally recovered with a 62-47 convincing win over Charging Rhino in a National Basketball League game played Saturday evening at YMCA Wandegeya.

KIU started the season with four straight wins but lost the last five games of first round, including one to Rhino. KIU though spurred by Isaac Afidra's 23 points gained revenge over Rhino in their opening fixture of second round and moved up to fifth position on the 10-team table with 15 points.

Rhino had David Kiberu as the leading scorer with 14 points. Makmot Orom added 16 points for KIU while Sande Okot and Ronnie Kalule contributed 11 apiece for Rhino. “It's a game gone but we hope to make amends next time,” said Kiberu.

Women's table leaders KCC Leopards kept a clean sheet in 11 games after they clipped Amazon Rhino 79-35. Becky Akullo led the mayor's girls with 25 points while Florence Nanyonga grabbed 11 for Amazon.

# posted by afrbk : 12:19  1 comments

The Nigeria ladies coached by the the trio of Kevin Cook, Scott Nnaji defeated hard fighting Mozambique 57-46 in the second semi-finals.
The team will now play Senegal who defeated Angola 71-49 points Sunday for a repeat of the 2003 finals that involves the two side.

While Angola and Mozambique battle for the bronze today.

Semi-finals results - Women
Senegal 71-49 Angola
Nigeria 57-46 Mozambique

Men
Egypt 67-55 Nigeria
Angola 74-60 Mali

3rd Place pairing - Women - 21/07/07
Angola Vs Mozambique

Men - 21/07/07
Nigeria Vs Mali

Finals - Women - 22/07/07
Nigeria Vs Senegal

Men - 22/07/07
Angola Vs Egypt

# posted by afrbk : 18:36  0 comments

The Egyptian who top group-A defeated the Nigerians by 67-55 points in the first semi-finals played this evening.

This means Nigeria will now have to battle for the bronze medals against the loser of the second semi-finals between defending champion, Angola and Mali.

2003 silver medallist Senegal shows class as she shoved aside Angolan challenge in the women semi-finals with a 71-49 spanking to await the winner between Nigeria and Mozambique.

The semi-final battle between Nigeria women who the games defending gold medallist and Mozambique was still on as at the time of filling this report.

In some of the classification games decided today, Algeria defeated Cameroon 82-68 points while Cote D'Ivoire beat South Africa 81-56 points in the men category and in the women, Algeria beat Tunisia 66-56 and Kenya defeated DR Congo 65-64

# posted by afrbk : 10:22  0 comments

By Michael Gebeh

The Liberia National Basketball Team failed to win any match in the on-going All Africa Game, which is currently taking place in Algiers, Algeria. Liberia finished as the least team in the Group B fixture after she lost her final match to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The poor performance of the team makes it impossible for the country to progress into the quarterfinal stage of the event, which kicked off yesterday.

Liberia lost her opening match of the fixture to Cameroon 50 - 75 and bowed down to Angola 63 - 91; to Mali 67 - 84; to Nigeria 57 - 79 and finally to the Democratic Republic of Congo 66 - 93.

In the quarterfinal event, Cameroon is paired against Egypt; South Africa against Angola; Mali against Cote D'Ivoire and Algeria against Nigeria.

According to sources from the Liberia Basketball Federation (LBF) the team is expected to return home on July 27, 2007.

# posted by afrbk : 10:08  1 comments

Today at YMCA
Livingstone v Najja High
Vegetarian v KCC Lions
Crane High v Jammers
C. Rhino v KIU
Women
Mak Cubs v UCU
Leopards v Amazon

DAVID Kiberu was man of the match when Charging Rhino shocked Kampala International University (KIU) 57-50 in the first round of the National Basketball League last month.

The center player collected 10 blocks - the highest by a single player in the first round and capped the excellent show with 14 points for his team's second win. Kiberu was the most psyched player as he took control of the paint with several thwarts against Moses Ochan and Orom Makmot.

The former Sadolin Power player is determined to reproduce the same show, when Rhino takes on KIU in their first second round game at YMCA Wandegeya today.
“At the moment, we have no option but to win. We have been training as a team and I am more than ready to help the team register victory,” Kiberu told Daily Monitor on Thursday evening.

“The team is determined to go all the way and I believe KIU is a team we can beat if we put in our best.” Rhino are second last on the 10-man table with 11 points while KIU are sixth on 13. Ronnie Kalule and Mande Juruni were equally instrumental in Rhino's victory and can help the 2000 champions grab maximum points with similar performances.
KIU will be looking up to a rejuvenated Isaac Afidra, who was fouled out in the first round encounter.

In the second division, Livingstone take on Najja High, Crane High are up against Sky Jammers while Vegetarian face table leaders KCC Lions.

# posted by afrbk : 10:07  1 comments

Sande Bashaija
Kampala

RECORD champions Mogas Falcons and Sadolin Power face off tonight at Lugogo on day one of the National Basketball League second round as they seek to keep pace with runaway leaders Uganda Christian University (UCU) Canons Mukono.

Cannons didn't lose game in first round and top the 10-man table with 18 points while Falcons are second with 15, one better than third-placed Power.

Falcons suffered a 54-55 painful loss to Power in first round and will definitely be going for revenge.

In that particular, Falcons had a one-point lead with five seconds to play, but Mark Enabu converted on the line to give Power the victory.

With a tight race expected for play-off places, Kyambogo Warriors will be keen to snatch maximum points from Makerere Youth Heaters to avoid last minute hitches.
The top four teams also have more reason to worry now that defending champions Nkumba Marines have closed in to fifth position. Only four teams play in the best-of-three semi final play-off series.

In the women's category, defending champions Lady Bucks, down in fifth place, take on third-placed KIU Rangers with hope of keeping close to unbeaten table leaders KCC Leopards.

Today
Warriors v Heaters
Power v Falcons

Women
Lady Bucks v Rangers

# posted by afrbk : 12:18  0 comments

Reprieve came the way of Akindele Ayodeji the United States of America based Nigerian basketballer who was earlier on Tuesday decamped and sent out of the Nigerian contingent here for unruly misconducts.

Patrick Ekeji, director of sports development at the National Sports Commission confirmed to THISDAYSports yesterday that the leadership of the Nigerian team here decided to tamper justice with mercy and recalled the athlete.

He however warned that misbehaviour of ant type would not be taken from any athlete as Nigeria continue to fish for medals from all the sports yesterday.

After the initial revolt over increase in allowances, Nigerian athletes started to collect the one dollars daily allowance offered by the government.

NSC authority stuck to it's gun not to add a penny to the approved sum and warned that any athlete that refused will only have him or her self to blame as the money will be returned to government treasury on return to Abuja from the Games.

# posted by afrbk : 12:17  1 comments

The Nigeria female team who were unstoppable top group-B with maximumm points while its male counterpart placed second behind Angola.

Nigeria stopped ambitious Camerron who until Tuesday game against Nigeria had only lost one match just like Nigeria bowed to the more experiance Nigerian side led by Olumide Oyedeji.

The Nigeria side led its Cameroonian counterpart with halftime scores standing at 46-40 but the Paul Biya's boys could only register 21 points in the last two quaters with fulltime scores at 81-61 points.
Angola on the other hand purnished Mali by 71-64 points while South Africa recorded a surprised 82-66 points over Tunisia while DR Congo compounded the woes of Liberia by 93-66 points defeat.

In the women event Nigeria topped her group with maximum points from five matches as Mfon Udoka and her teammates defeated Mali by 65-49 points to set up a quarter-final battle line against DR Congo.

Tuesday Results - Women:

Senegal 69-45 Kenya
RD Congo 48-45 Cote d'Ivoire
Tunisia 92-71 Zimbabwe
Angola 53-41 Algeria
Nigeria 65-49 Mali

Men:

LIBERIA RD Congo 93-66 Liberia
South Africa 82-66 Tunisia
Angola 71-64 Mali
Cote d'Ivoire 65-52 Algeria
Nigeria 81-61 Cameroon

Quarter-finals pairing - Women - 19/07/07
13.00: TUNISIA Vs ANGOLA
15.00: RD CONGO Vs NIGERIA
17.00: ALGERIA Vs SENEGAL
19.00: KENYA Vs MOZAMBIQUE

Quarter-final pairing - Men - 19/07/07
13.00: CAMEROUN Vs EGYPT
15.00: SOUTH AFRICA Vs ANGOLA
17.00: MALI Vs COTE D’IVOIRE
19.00: ALGERIA Vs NIGERIA

from http://nigeriasports.com

# posted by afrbk : 09:37  0 comments

Mercy Gakii And Tim Kamuzu Banda
Nairobi

Three United States NBA basketball stars ended their charity mission to the country's slums yesterday.

The three - Ron Artest, a forward for Sacramento Kings, Theo Curtis Ratliff, the excellent shot-blocker for Boston Celtics, Etan Thomas and Maurice Evans who turn out for the LA Lakers - have been in the country courtesy of a joint project between the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and Feed the Children programme - an international christian organisation that delivers food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to disadvantaged people around the world.

They were the face of a feeding programme hosted locally by the Anglican Church of Kenya that has seen the organisation distribute 5,000 tonnes of rice to people in poor places around the country.

"To see what I have seen here is amazing. You see, poverty cannot be measured. Am glad to have come and been part of this," a humbled Evans said.

The three toured and assisted in feeding people in the Kibera and Mathare slums. They also visited and worked with the children at Kawangware's Ray of Hope Clinic.

"It has been a humbling experience and one that I will go back and share with the people back home and see what else we can do," explained Artest.

Asked whether they would consider coming to Kenya to help train or carry out a basketball clinic in the country, the three basketballers unanimously agreed that they would be more than willing if that was organised.

# posted by afrbk : 09:32  0 comments

The national senior males basketball team plays against South Africa this Thursday at 05 pm local time, in Algiers, at Staouali pavilion, as part of the quarterfinals of the All-Africa Games.
The national team ended the first phase without a loss, even though the team's performance has not been the best.
Defensive mistakes, weak efficiency during attacks and in free throws, as well as three points shooting, are some of the problems faced by Jaime Covilhã's players.
For this stage, the eight-time African champions, without some of the players who are training in Spain for the African Nations Basketball Championship (Afrobasket2007), are forbidden to lose.
A victory over South Africa will motivate the squad in a group with opponents such as Senegal and Egypt.

# posted by afrbk : 09:26  3 comments

According to the league coordinator Godwin Unegbe that the aim of the league is to give opportunity to kids who might have the chance to show-case their talents in the Lagos City league or the Nigeria Basketball Federation national competitions.

The former Nigeria forward says it has been pleasing so far as the twelve male teams and five female have been reduced to four as they battle for the grand finale ticket Wednesday at the Police College starting at 14.00 hours Nigeria time.

The former Lagos Islanders and Ebun Comets basketball clubs power forward says Dolphins basketball club feeders team, The Baby Seal will take on Mark Balogun (Assistant Superintendent of Police) Rookies while Hawknets will slug it out against University of Lagos, UNILAG team in the female category.

The battle for the male final ticket will be between Raptors versus Flammers in the first semi-finals and Rookies against Hawks in the second semis while the finals hold Friday at the same venue.

# posted by afrbk : 11:27  0 comments

The Nigerian lad who finished at the rear of group-C had only Monday defeated Puerto Rico today beat Lebanon 82-65 points to finish 13th in the 16-team championship.

The Adeka Dauda and Masai Ujiri tutored lads showed that they are not ready to compromise in the game against the Asian by winning the first quarter 26-17 points, though the Lebanese tries to come back into the game in the second quarter which they won 22-20 but gave in to the more determined African champion in the third quarter with a 24-11 points win but relaxed their game in the last quarter thus allowing the Lebanese to win by 15-12 points which was not enough to upturn the table against the Nigerians.

Nigeria forward, Emmanuel Negedu led his teammates on the scorers chat with a double double of 27 points and 10 rebounds, centre Solomon Alabi also had a double double of 11 points and 10 rebounds while energetic small forward Ibrahim Yusuf contributed 11 points, 7 rebounds and one block.

Assistant coach, Ujiri gave the boys kudos for their performance against the back ground that the team had the worst of preparation before the championship which contributed immensely to the not too impressive showing during the group stage where they have to play their opening game against Canada less than twenty-four hours after arriving Novi sad.

The players and their officials according to information made available to our correspondent shortly after defeating Lebanon is due back in Nigeria on Thursday after spending 24 hours at the Airport in Istanbul, due to poor flight arrangement.

Africa second representative beat Puerto Rico 89-81 to finish 15th.

Other results games already decided today:
Nigeria-82-65 Lebanon
Mali 89-81 Puerto Rico
Lithuania 85-66 China
Canada 99-83 Korea
Turkey 59-56 Spain
Serbia 79-62 France

By http://nigeriasports.com

# posted by afrbk : 11:26  0 comments

By Charles Nyende
Nairobi

A disjointed Kenya fell 69-42 to Senegal in the final Group "B" at the Hydra Sports Centre to register their second consecutive win.

None of the girls got into the game and lacking drive and of intensity on a sultry Algeria morning.

Josephine Owino was the only Kenyan who got into double figures with a haul of 12 points. Gladys Wanyama, who has been hot these past few days was restricted to just eight points.

Aston Traore led the Senegal onslaught with 17 points while Adama Diakhati had 14.
"I think we were just tired. After falling behind in the first half we just couldn't recover," captain Angela Luchivya said after the match.
"We can play better. Sometimes you need to lose to get you act together. We will sit down and plan on our quarterfinals," she said.

Kenya were amongst the first teams to qualify for the quarters following wins against Tunisia, Mali and Senegal.

Four teams from each of the pools qualifiers for the last eight. The draw was due to be held last evening after conclusion of the preliminary round.

The all quarter-finals will be staged tomorrow, the semi-finals on Friday and the final on Sunday.

# posted by afrbk : 11:19  0 comments

By Nanama Keita

Gambian Pierre Jallow has continued his dominating season, with another outstanding month of games that saw the Hume City Bronco's with four wins and Jallow the much anticipated Championship Men Player of the Month for June 2007.

Jallow's month included an average of 26 points per game that sees him second in the season's league leaders. Combined with a June shooting percentage of 56% from the field, 58% from the three point line and 78% from the free throw line, and an average of 13 rebounds per game, Jallow has been the front runner for the Bronco's for June, all but ensuring them a place in the finals.

When notified of his award, Jallow said that he was happy with the personal accomplishment, but was quick to state that the team always come first.

"The season has been great so far, mostly because I have been playing alongside very seasoned and good players who compliment my game very well," Jallow said.

Jallow said that he tries hard to juggle his performance in relation to the team's winning percentage, and that the award will see him continue to strive harder, as he will now be a bigger target for opposition teams.

"Basketball is a team sport and almost all the personal accolades are a direct representation of the team. With that in mind, I want to say a huge thank you to all my team mates. I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys," he said.Other contender's this month included - Simon Conn (Sandringham), Darryl Corletto (Melbourne), Timothy Gainey (Warrnambool) and Lester Strong (Warrnambool).

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The Lady Tigers who lead group-B with 8 points from four earlier today defeated Kenya by 57-51 points while D'Tigers wallops Liberia 79-57 to remain second in group-B behind Angola who posted a 71-63 points victory over Cameroon.

The Games women gold defending champion, Nigeria will play her last group match against mali Tuesday while its male counterpart will take on Cameroon.

4th day results for Women

Algeria 69-64 Cote d'Ivoire
Mali 97-61 Zimbabwe
Nigeria 57-51 Kenya
Senegal 77-55 Tunisia

Men Results:

Nigeria 79-57 Liberia
Angola 71-63 Cameroon

Tuesday pairings - Women

Group A
11h00.DR Congo vs. Côte d’Ivoire
16h00. Algeria vs. Angola
Exempt : Mozambique

Group B
09h00. Senegal vs. Kenya
14h00. Tunisia vs. Zimbabwe
18h00. Nigeria vs. Mali

# posted by afrbk : 11:17  0 comments

Emmanuel Negedu led the charge, claiming a 23-point haul and 8 rebounds with one block, while Ibrahim Adamu Yusuf added a further 22 points and 10 rebounds for a double double, shooting guard Nosa Omorogbe bagged 17 while Solomon Alabi earned a double double of 14 points, 15 rebounds and an impressive 6 block shots jus as point guard Michael Ohiero had 7 assists.

Point guard Josue Soto was the focal point of Puerto Rico's effort, but ultimately his 19 points could not stop his side slipping to a defeat that looked likely from the first buzzer.

By the first quarter the African champion had opened up a commanding 23-18 lead, and they stretched that to 43-36 by the halfway stage.

Any second-half revival was immediately made to look unlikely when Nigeria took the third quarter 25-17 to lead 68-53 overall.

They went on to edge the fourth 29-24 to move further clear and clinch their best result of the tournament to date.

Puerto Rico, on the other hand, remain fruitless from their four games.

Nigeria will battle Lebanon Tuesday for placement 13-14 while Mali and Puerto Rico will slug it for the last classification game.

Other Result of Games played Monday:

Lebanon 76-56 Mali
Nigeria 97-77 Puerto Rico
Australia 135-79 Korea
Spain 83-69 Canada
Serbia 87-75 Brazil
Argentina 68-59 Turkey

USA 90-81 Lithuania
France 106-57 China

# posted by afrbk : 11:10  0 comments

The basketball team of Jean Piaget University of Angola Sunday qualified for the finals of Males University Championship, happening in Luanda, after beating the Economy Faculty by 61-57, in the second match of the semi-finals.

In the first match of the semi-finals, Jean Piaget University beat the same team by 65-50. The Science Faculty lost their first game against the Arts Faculty, 49-60, and won the second by 53-50.

The titleholders, Angola's Private University (UPRA), as well as the runners up Lusiadas University of Angola (ULA), have already been eliminated from the competition.

# posted by afrbk : 11:05  0 comments

Angola female basketball team scored an important victory Saturday in the All Africa Games, after defeating Mozambique female team 48-46, in the third round of the competition going on in Algiers, Alger.

After starting with a loss from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 54-78, the team, coached by Aníbal Moreira, beat Côte d'Ivoire 51-32.

# posted by afrbk : 11:01  3 comments

LUGOGO

Results
Team A 88 -85 Team B
Uspa 4-13 Veterans
Women
Yellow Super 28-46 B. Flames

THE National Basketball League All-Star gala comes once a year, but it's an event you would wish to attend every other day. Held at Lugogo Indoor Stadium on Friday night, the event attracted the biggest crowd of all basketball activities so far, and fans were left yearning for more.

Two-time league Most Valuable Player (MVP) Norman Blick proved he is worth holding that title over and over again. The Nkumba Marines star, sunk a game high 26 points and his team's 85-88 loss is less of a talking point. Blick combined with Uganda Christian University (UCU) Mukono lethal point guard Ivan Enabu to give the crowd their money's worth.
Well known for his tricky crossovers, Enabu (16) set up Blick five times in the first quarter and the Nkumba star hauled in quick ten points with different slam-dunk fashions.

Later Blick outscored UCU's Geoffrey Omondi 12-9 to win the three-point shooting contest. With all those exploits Blick was unmatched for the All-Star MVP accolade.
Makerere Youth Heaters' Joseph Ikong (13) won the fans' hearts with his first attempt in the dunking competition and will carry the 'dunking master' title for the next one year.

The Malinga brothers Henry and Eric combined for 26 points to lead Team A to the slim victory. A Uganda Sports Press Association (Uspa) second-string side exhibited skill but lost 4-13 to a veteran's select team lead by former Marines guard Barnes Ankunda.
KCC Leopards' Agatha Baliddawa took the women's shooting title while Flavia Oketcho (UCU) was MVP.

# posted by afrbk : 13:50  2 comments

Kano Pillars and Dodan Warriors basketball club small forward Ibrahim Adamu Yusuf led the squad with a game high of 29 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists while Kennys' Bullets guard Michael Ohiero poured in 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists just as Emmanuel Negedu added 10 points, 6 rebounds for the African champion who will now play a classification match next Monday for the 12-16 place.

With the victory over Nigeria Turkey now finish second behind group leader and championship defending champion, Australia with 5 points from three match.

Other results of games already decided Saturday the last day of group matches of the championship saw France defeating Lebanon by a whopping 100-58 points, mali went down to China by 59-46; Australia posted an 81-70 points victory over Canada while Lithuania succumb to the superior fire-power of Brazil 81-75.

The games between Argentina and Puerto Rico and that of Spain against Korea was still on at the time of this report.

By Seinde Ikuesan

# posted by afrbk : 18:14  0 comments

While D'Tigers harmered the Congolese side by 75-52 points for its second win in the group which comprises of perennial foe, Angola, Liberia, Mali and Cameroon, the women team, The Tigress manage a 58-56 points win over Tunisia to set a big battle against Senegal today.

The Olumide Oyedeji captain side will have their full strength tested today when they confront Games gold medal defending champion, Angola at 19.00 Algeria time.

Other results of games played Friday - Women

Côte d’Ivoire vs. Angola: 39 - 51
Algeria vs. Mozambique:46 - 56
Senegal vs. Zimbabwe: 75 - 37
Kenya vs. Mali: 58 - 52
Nigeria vs. Tunisia: 56 - 54

Men

Egypt vs. Côte d’Ivoire: 70 -48
Algeria vs. Tunisia: 62 - 49
Angola vs. Liberia: 91 - 63
Nigeria vs. DR Congo: 75 - 52
Cameroon vs. Mali: 69 - 71

Today's Pairing - Women:

Group A
14h00 .Mozambique vs. Angola:
16h00. Algeria vs. RD Congo
Exempt : Côte d’Ivoire

Group B
09h00. Zimbabwe vs. Kenya
11h00. Tunisia vs. Mali
18h00. Nigeria vs. Senegal

Men:

Group A
Venue : Harcha
17h00 Tunisia vs. Côte d’Ivoire
19h00 South Africa vs. Egypt
Exempt: Algeria

Group B
Venue : Staoueli
15h00. Liberia vs. Mali
17h00.DR Congo vs. Cameroon
19h00. Angola vs. Nigeria

# posted by afrbk : 13:10  0 comments

AFTER winning 10 straight first round games, self-belief is cropping up in the Kampala City Council (KCC) Leopards camp that they can win the women's National Basketball League title without losing.

Dubbed championship favourites, KCC were unbeaten in last year's regular season but failed to carry the same form in the play-offs. They faltered in the opening game of the semis against A-1 Challenge but squeezed to the finals. Lady Bucks however beat them 3-1 in the final series.
"I think players learn a lesson from last season and they can't afford to repeat the same mistakes. Players have played a couple of international games and I believe its possible to win this championship unbeaten," Leopards coach Mande Juruni told Daily Monitor at the team's training ground in Nakasero Wednesday evening.

# posted by afrbk : 12:30  0 comments

Angola's national team of basketball on Thursday beat the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by 72-53, in the opening of their participation in the Pan-African Games, taking place in Algeria, from July 11 to 13, ANGOP witnessed.

The Angolans, title holders, are in Algeria with a second team, as the main one is attending a training session in Spain for the African Cup of Nations, expected for August this year, in Angola.

Angola will play Liberia Friday for the Pan-African Games.

Meanwhile, the female basketball team was defeated (44-75) at the debut match against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Angolan ladies will face Cote D'ivoire this Friday.

# posted by afrbk : 12:28  0 comments

The Mfon Udoka led Lady Tigers began the defence of their gold medal won four years ago also on a good note beating Zimbabwe comprehensively by 30 points margin of 85-55 points.

Other countries that had their name on the winners sheet of the day-one of the basketball event of the Africa version of the world Olympic Games include Egypt who defeated Tunisia by 86-64 points just as Cameroon recorded a 75-50 points win over Liberia in the men category, while the games between games gold medal defending champion, Angola against Congo and that of South Africa versus host Algeria were still on at the time of this report.

In the women cadre Mozambique playing in group-A alongside host Algeria defeated Cote d'Ivoire by 63-39 points, Angola ladies fell to the superior fire power of DR Congo by 74-58 points while Tunisia managed a 58-56 points victory over Kenya.

2nd Day program (13 July 07)

Group A
17h00. Egypt vs. Côte d’Ivoire
19h00. Algeria vs. Tunisia
Exempt : South Africa

# posted by afrbk : 14:08  0 comments

Adeka Dauda's Nigeria, looking to become the first African nation to win the trophy, started brightly and had earned a six-point advantage at 25-19 a minute into the second quarter.

But the North Americans battled back and had restored parity by the halfway point with the scores tied at 35-35.

And Canada made the decisive break in the game in the third period, establishing what turned out to be an unassailable 61-48 lead.

Greg Francis' side continued to turn the screw in the final 10 minutes, pulling further away to finish as comfortable winners.

Joseph stole the show with his points haul but was ably supported by Boris Bakovic and Jon House, who netted 15 points apiece, and Kai Williams who managed 11.

Emmanuel Negedu led the way for the Africans with 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Ibrahim Adamu Yusuf contributed 11 points in the losing cause.

Mali Africa's other representative in the championship bowed to almighty USA by whooping 118-56 points, Lithuania lost to France in a close shave by 85-82 points, Brazil edge past Lebanon 83-67, Spain defeated Puerto Rico while host Serbia handed down a 78-61 defeat to China, the games between defending champion, Australia and Turkey and that of Argentina versus Korea were still on as at the time of filling this report.

Friday Pairings:
France Vs Brazil
Lebanon Vs Lithuania
Korea Vs Puerto Rico
Australia Vs Nigeria
Serbia Vs Mali
Canada Vs Turkey
Spain Vs Argentina
USA Vs China

# posted by afrbk : 14:06  0 comments

by Gloria Kyomugisha
Kampala

AFTER six months of uncertainty, MTN will unveil this year's basketball league sponsorship package ahead of the All-Star bonanza today.

The package, which will cover the next three years, is estimated to be in excess of the previous annual sh60m.The All-Star gala will immediately after throw off at the Lugogo Indoor stadium.

The gala, held annually, showcases players' passion for the game, engagement with fans and commitment to the community.

"The gala will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase, not only the most entertaining basketball players in Uganda, but one of the greatest fan acknowledgement moments," said FUBA president Ambrose Tashobya.

The gala tips off at 5pm with a curtain-raiser for the U-10 in the Rookie Challenge before the Shooting Stars event.

# posted by afrbk : 12:18  0 comments

Sande Bashaija
Kampala

UGANDA Christian University (UCU) Canons star guard Ivan Enabu has been lined up to face his brothers Mark and Jimmy in tonight's MTN-sponsored National Basketball League All-Star gala at Lugogo.
Jimmy turns out for Riders, a team Ivan left at the beginning of this season, while Mark is a big name at Sadolin Power.Ivan will combine with Ben Komakech, Salim Ali, Norman Blick, Ronnie Kasewu, Steven Okias, Isaac Afidra, Markmot Orom, Eric Nyamai, Carrol Bisereko, Brian Gumisiriza and reigning MVP Boniface Okello.

The other two Enabus are to play alongside Ken Balyejusa, Allan Tawoda, Eric Malinga, Mande Juruni, Sam Obol, Wilbrod Oketcho, Robert Mubiru, Henry Malinga and Michael Karuiki.

Apart from showcasing their skills the country's best stars will be fighting to scoop the All-Star Most Valuable Player (MVP) accolade and goodies staked by the sponsors.

The women's game begins at 5 p.m. Notable stars summoned include Ali Mavita, Brenda Mbone, Flavia Oketcho, Linda Tamale and Miriam Hamala.

# posted by afrbk : 12:16  0 comments

Seoul Samsung Thunders basketball club star, Olumide Oyedeji has promised to be a good leader, as the country's Senior Men national team, D'Tigers begins their campaign at the 9th All Africa Games holding in Algiers.

Oyedeji, who was named the new captain of the team by the coaching crew of the Nigeria side last week, said the country has all the chance to win the gold medal bat the African fiesta.

"We have what it takes to win gold at the All Africa Games. All things been equal, we are going there to be good ambassador of this our great country. I personal as the captain of the team, I'll be loyal to my country and the rest of the team. We'll try our possible best to make sure we don't fail the nation," he said.

The former Seattle Supersonic centre fell out with former Coach Sam Vincent before the 2006 FIBA World Championship held in Japan following irreconcilable differences.

The twelve-man list for the games starting July 11 through 23 is made up of nine foreign based and three home based players. They include captain of the 2006 Commonwealth games squad, Abdulrahman Mohammed, Chamberlain Oguchi, Ejike Ugboaja, Abdullahi Kuso. Others are home boy and former captain of the Nigeria U19 team Orseer Ikyaator, Abubakar Usman, Stanley Gumut, Deji Akindele, Bazuaye Obahon, Michael Umeh and Henry Ogwuma.

# posted by afrbk : 12:15  0 comments