Basketball in Africa

AFRICA 2009 Teams Champions by countries

Men
ALGERIA - ASPTT Alger
ANGOLA - 1º de Agosto Luanda
BENIN - Elan Sport Puerto Novo
BOTSWANA - Troppers
BURKINA FASO –
BURUNDI - Urunani
CAP VERDE - Seven Stars
CAMERON - BEAC Yandaoué
COMORES – Djabal Club
CONGO BRAZAVILLE – Inter Brazaville
EGYPT – Ithiadi
ERITREA- ?
ETYOPIA - Ethio Investiment groupe “Tastis”
GABON – Atomick BB
GAMBIA _- ?
GHANA – CEPS Braves
ISLES MAURICE - Real Port Louis
IVORY COAST - ABC
LESTHO – Rovers Basketball Club
LIBERIA - NPA Pythons
LIBIA - Al Nasser
KENYA – KCB Lions
MADAGASCAR – COSFA
MALAWI – Mimbulu
MALI - Real
MAROCCO – IRT Tanger
MAURITANIA – ASAC Concorde
MAYOTTE – Vautours Abbatoir
MOZAMBIQUE – Maxaquene Maputo
NAMIBIA – ¿
NIGER – ASAF
NIGERIA – Kano Pillars
RCA – Red Star
RD CONGO – BC Mazembe Lubumbashi
RWANDA – APR
SEYCHELLS – PLS Hawks
SENEGAL – DUC Dakar
SIERRA LEONE – ?
SOMALIE – ?
SWALIZANDIA - ?
SUDAN – Mareekn
TANZANIA – JKT
TOGO – Modele
TUNISIA – ESS Etoile du Sahel
UGANDA – Warriors
ZAMBIA – LCC Looters
ZIMBABWE .- JBC

STORY SOURCE : RITE MULTMIDEA.

Armed Forces Secondary Technical School and Sacred Hearts Girls School redrafted history by lifting the trophy in the grand finale of the 2009 Sprite Ball Championship in their respective divisions at the El-Wak Stadium over the weekend.

The Burma camp based side which placed third in the Greater Accra regional qualifiers put up a bolt from the blue performance in the two-day tournament at the citadel of basketball in Accra beating highly fancied schools like Pope John, Opoku Ware School and Mfanstipim enroute to the final before they scaled the hurdle against Volta regional champions Keta Senior High 19-11 in a highly charged game.

Armed Forces produced the performance of the two-day competition by putting up a come back from behind display to beat Central regional champions Mfantsipim at the 1/16th stage. They were down 17-6 at the end of the first half but fought back strongly to narrowly beat the Cape Coast based school 18-17 to the admiration of the dignitaries and thousands of crazy basketball fans who thronged the venue.

The 2009 grand finale of the Sprite Ball Championship will go into the history books as the most keenly contested tournament to date - an indication that the game has improved tremendously since it inception four years ago.

Keta Senior High will rue the lost opportunity after they lost yet another final in a heartbreaking manner. Ketasco lost the the finals of last year's competition at the Aviation Social Centre to dethrone champions Achimota Senior High and Sunday's defeat to Armed Forces was ego battering and shattering for the Keta based school for two years in succession.

On the contrary Sacred Hearts girls are baking in the glory after a sterling performance at the weekend. The Accra based side recorded a sweet revenge over defending champions Wesley girls high school at the semi-final stage beating the Cape Coast based school 19-12 to make for last season's final defeat to the same side. They also manage to beat western regional rivals Arch Bishop Porter girls at the 1/16th stage before seeing off Central regional champions Aggrey Memorial in a one -sided game 21- 9 at the El-Wak stadium. But Aggrey Memorial will take consolation in the fact their debut appearance has earned them rave reviews in the West African country and should buoyed them for the fifth edition of the tournament next year.

Meanwhile Koforidua Secondary Technical School (K.S.T.S) won bronze in the boys division after they beat bronze medallist from the Ashanti region Opoku Ware School while Wesley girls also took the third spot following their triumph over Insaaniya School in the third and fourth place match.

The performances from the schools that qualified for the knockout stages excited the dignitaries who graced the occasion including the Special Guest of Honour, Ga Mantse, His Majesty King Tackie Tawiah 111, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Nii Nortey Duah, Chairman of the Ghana Basketball Association, David Addo Ashong, representatives from headline sponsors, Sprite and officials of the Ghana Education Service among others.

Dozens of international scouts from the United States of America and other parts of Europe flocked the venue to monitor players who excelled individually for a possible stint with a with an European team.

The two-day basketball fiesta produced an array of blistering basketball performances from the forty-four (44) schools spread across six regions and has left a huge imprint in the minds of the fans who witnessed the games.

FIVE local basketball coaches have successfully passed Model II course of the world basketball governing body, FIBA.

The course was conducted in Nairobi, Kenya this month and attracted 23 candidates.

Assistant Secretary General of the Tanzania Basketball Federation (TBF) Michael Maluwe named the referees as Evarist Mapunda, Leonard Kwale, Alfred Makoye, George Kitundu and Aime Maulid.

He said before attending the Model II course in Nairobi, the five coaches had already undergone a Model One course that was held in Dar es Salaam from late August to September. The course attracted some 29 participants.

“We are so pleased with the local coaches’ success. We hope they will use their expertise to help develop the sport in the country,” said Maluwe.

He said the course required candidates to pass practicals by at least 50 per cent. Other referees who attended the course in Nairobi were from Kenya and USA.

Round 19 : Ahly made thier 3rd consicutive win over Tanta,Gasco, Shorta , the new coach Said Saber seems leading his team to survive from dropping down. However,Ahly will face Somouha next round in a live or die buttele who wins will most probably pass to the best six round the looser will be in a deep problem. Also, sporting lost 2 games on the role now with 8 loss like Ahly, sporting will face zamalek who lost in round 19 from Army to reach the 5th loss ranked 3rd, Sporting must win this game to resque their dropping for the 2nd year .

Following the successful hosting of the Basketball Indaba last month, the Namibia Basketball Federation (NBF) continues its efforts to resuscitate basketball as a national sport.

Among the efforts required to restore basketball to its rightful place, the Indaba resolved that new leadership structures be elected in all 13 regions.
This resolution was also in line with the mandate given by the Namibia Sports Commission to the NBF Interim Committee to elect a new leadership.
The election of the new leadership structures was conducted in line with the draft constitution that was facilitated and concluded by the interim committee.
This process led to the election of a new committee to administer the affairs of the Khomas Basketball Association (KBA) as of the 10th of this month.
The committee consists of Isak Nahum (president), Hans Hamukoto (vice-president), Nande Kayala (secretary-general), Ndapandula Haufiku (treasurer), and Mao Mutombo, (development officer).

The NBF Interim Committee also facilitated the formation of the Oshana Basketball Association (OBA), where a new committee was elected.
The 5-member committee is led by Hofni Kapolo (president), Beatha Nathanael (deputy president), Irja Gibeon (secretary-general), Mario Serto (treasurer) and Pondo Nailenge (development officer).
Interestingly, the new committee is dominated by a significant number of women representation, that have shown tremendous interest in administration of basketball in both regions – bringing to an end to breaking the long held tradition of regional committees being the sole province of their male counterparts.
The first initiative of OBA is to stage a basketball summer youth camp with German expert Frank Albin to gauge the interest and the standard of the basketball in the Oshana region next month.

The next elections are scheduled for the Erongo, Oshikoto and Okavango regions during the course of the next three weeks.

WINDHOEK - As part of the resuscitation of basketball as a national sport in Namibia, the newly established Erongo Basketball Association (EBA) received a massive sponsorship of basketball equipment from Tunacor Fisheries Limited valued at N$100 000.00 last weekend.

Present to receive the equipment on behalf of the communities and NBF was Walvis Bay mayor Uilika Nambahu and NBF interim president Ndeulipula Hamutumwa.

The equipment, shipped in from Spain, consists of state of the art NBA-standard products.

With these structures in place, Namibia will be amongst the top countries in Africa able to host FIBA Afrique Continental Championships and other major events such as the All Africa Games.

In this regard, the NBF will actively pursue making Namibia a prime destination for such continental competitions.

The NBF’s interim committee recently facilitated the election of a new Erongo Basketball Association (EBA) and the formation of the Kavango Basketball Associations (KABA).

The new leadership at the EBA comprises Rivalda Kahatjipara (president), to be deputized by Simon Petrus Kamatoto (secretary-general), Tommy Imbili (treasurer), Manolito Carballo (development officer) and Vonny Booysen (NSSU representative).

At KABA, the leadership committee is made up of John Simbungu (president), Judy Judge (secretary-general), Mechitilde Mupiri (treasurer) and Costa Dastaquen (development officer).

The Gambia international basketballer, Pierre Jallow, has revealed that the country is capable of producing great basketballers that can compete in top European leagues in the near future if the present raw talents at hand are well nurtured.

Jallow described aspiring Gambian basketballers as rough diamonds that only need to be furnished. The former Saint Augustine High School student made these remarks shortly after his former school beat SOS Senior Secondary School 36-26 to emerge as champions of the inter-senior secondary schools basketball tournament on Thursday, at the Independence Stadium.

The eight-team tournament, which was meant to revive the trade of basketball in the school system, was organized by Pierre Jallow’s new foundation – Scholar Athlete for Change (SAC) in collaboration with the Gambia Secondary School Sports Association with supports from Trust Bank Limited and YMCA.

“I am very happy with the great excitement the tournament had generated amongst the schools," Jallow told Observer Sports shortly after the final whistle. "It tells me that Gambian youngsters are not only interested in basketball, but they also want to be part of the sport and it’s up to us to help them grow."

"The Gambia has a talent to play every sport and at any level; it only depends on how we nurture these talents to make them grow," he said.
Pleased with the level of excitement and participation in the maiden competition, Jallow said, he and his team will ensure the event is organized annually in a bid to create a platform where Gambia would produce more Pierre Jallows.

As champions in the mid-week final, Saint Augustine's walked away with a giant trophy and a cash prize of D10, 000, while SOS consoled themselves with a cash prize of D6, 000. Saint Peter's Senior Secondary School, who earlier beat Kotu to clinch the third place, received a cash reward of D4, 000. Saint Augustine's Omar Sanneh was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, while the Most Discipline Team award went to Saint Peter's. All the participating schools were given two new basketballs each as well as certificates of participation.
Author: Nanama Keita

An eight-team inter-senior secondary school basketball tournament organized by the Scholar Athlete for Change (SAC) in collaboration with the Gambia Secondary School Sports Association (GSSSA) has reached its climax.

Saint Augustine’s Senior Secondary School will rub shoulders with SOS Senior Secondary School in the grand final today at the Independence Stadium, but not until the third place winner had been decided on the same day between the semi-final casualties - Saint. Peter’s Senior Secondary School and Kotu Senior Secondary School.

SOS beat Saint Peter’s to reach the final, while Saint Augustine went through at the expense of Kotu Senior Secondary School. A coveted trophy and staggering cash prize of D10, 000 await the prospective winners of today’s final, while the runners up will console themselves with a cash prize of D6, 000.

The third best team in the tournament will bag D4, 000, while there will also be prizes for the most disciplined team as well as the most valuable player of the tournament. Pierre Jallow, a renowned Gambian professional basketball and founder of Scholar Athlete for Change - a foundation that aims to promote basketball among youngsters – is the brainchild of the tournament that aims at reviving the trade of basketball in school system.
Author: Nanama Keita

Sponsored by Senegal ambassador to Ethiopia his Excellency Amadu Kebi, the four clubs’ Addis Ababa basketball championship closed on Sunday, Ethio Investment Group taking the title.
The two days tournament that brought four Addis Ababa basket ball teams namely Ethio Investment Group, Ethiopia water works, Testis and Saint Josef Alumni was fully sponsored by the Senegal Ambassador Amadu Kebi. The participant teams for the special tournament likely to become an annual occasion, selected for their standing in the recently ended Addis Ababa championship.
The tournament showed that Ethiopia has a potential to the sport if the likes of Basketball admirers the likes of his Excellency Amadu comes to the picture in regular basis. Even for those who argue it is a sport for taller ones, there happened to be many blessed with the height as well as the talent for the game. In the opening matches on Saturday the reigning Addis Ababa basketball champions Water Works side defeated Testis while Ethio Investment won over Saint Josef Alumini the winners to go through to Sunday’s cup final with the losers for the play-off matches.
The cup final on Sunday at Arat Kilo sport center at the presence of youth and sport deputy minister Ato Abdisa Yadetta and his Excellency Amadu Kebi was the best cup final show downs in recent times. Even the third place play –off was full of magical moments. If basket ball is a sport for tall ones we saw that Ethiopia has also its share of tall ones with marveling talents.
Featuring close battling for second runner-up place Saint Josef Alumini won with a single basket the score line reading 87-86. The crowed applauded Testis for the play-off battle.
The cup final between Ethio Investment Group Vs Water Works called for a full time crowed ecstasy. Both sides with many of the national team players featured well organized in technique and tactic displays before Ethio Investment won 70-67 to take the coveted trophy together with the prize money courtesy of his Excellency ambassador Amadu Kebi.
The champion Ethio Investment took the 3000 ETB prize money while run runner – up Ethiopian water works collected ETB 2000. Third place Saint Josef Alumni received 1500 ETB with fourth place Testis receiving 1000 ETB. The presence of African nation ambassadors, officials from African economic commission, representative of the African Union and other invited guests gave color to the occasion.
Many the spectators and ardent Basketball fans praised the federation for its effort organizing such events and said it should the entire time look for a sponsor if the sport is to survive in the coming times. “Youngsters are coming to the sport but I fear they might be frustrated for lack of enthusiasms for the sport.”remarked a spectator among the crowed.

BASKETBALL coach Philip Arissol is the fourth Seychellois to benefit from the International Support Programme for African and Caribbean Sport (Paisac) applied science in sports coaching training and he has returned recently better equipped.

Socga president Gopal (right) presents coach Arissol with his certificate in the presence of Socga officials and friends

Arissol received his level-three certificate after a successful three-month training course in Montreal, Canada.

Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (Socga) president Antonio Gopal presented Arissol with his certificate during a ceremony at the local Olympic body’s headquarters at Stad Linite, Roche Caïman, in the presence of executive members and friends.

Coach of the HotShots women’s team who achieved a first league and cup double this year, Arissol is ready to put into practice what he has learned.

“I have learned a lot from the course but I get the feeling that three months were not enough to assimilate the bulk of information.

“The course isn’t about basketball training only, but sports in general. I met volleyball, swimming, and basketball coaches. They all picked up what’s best for their sport,” said Arissol.

Among the topics covered were nutrition, making ethical decisions, the psychology of performance, prevention and recovery, and developing athletics abilities.

“I also got the opportunity to learn more about long-term development and training plans which I hope to put into practice with my team,” added Arissol, who took over as HotShots coach in 2002 and has won three league titles and the Seychelles Basketball Federation (SBF) Cup three times.

Tipped to be named the country’s women’s team head coach, Arissol also trained with the McGill University women’s basketball team and described it as “a great experience”.

During his three-month stay in Montreal, Arissol visited the World Anti-doping Agency headquarters and the Quebec Basketball Federation.

He also met members of the Coaches’ Commission of Canada which writes about the overall development of sports in Canada.
Other than Arissol, volleyball coach Julien Onezime in 2008 and swimming coaches Annette Monthy in 2006 and Barnsley Albert in 2007 have also benefited from the Paisac programme.


G. G.

The Lesotho Basketball Association run two national leagues - the national basketball league (NBL) and the Highschools basketball league (HBSL).

The 2009 national championships are as follows:
High School Basketball league (managed under the Basketball Based Lifeskills Program):

1. Methodist High School - boys (2007, 2008 & 2009 national champions)
2. St Stephens High Schools - boys (2009 runners-up;2007, and 2008 semi-finalists)
3. St. Patrick's High School - girls (2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 national champions)
4. St. Mary's High School - girls (2009 runners up)


National Basketball League

1. Rovers Basketball Club -men (National University of Lesotho) - 2009 champions
2. Lerotholi Polytechnic - men - 2008 Champions, 2009 runners-up
3. Lerothoi Polytechnic - women - 2008 and 2009 Champions
4. Rovers Basketball Club - women (National University of Lesotho) - 2009 runner's up

Just what is ailing sports at the Kenya Ports Authority? That is the million dollar question coast fans have been asking after the giant corporations teams failed to win silverware in the local scene during the just concluded season for the first time in as many years as history can remember.

Related Stories

* KPA break jinx to enter final
* Eagle Wings are new Kenya champs
* Underdogs make league history as top cream feted
* KPA women one up after victory over Eagle Wings
* Masinde Muliro new champs

After performing poorly at the Kecoso games in Nakuru, a championships the dockers dominated only recently, KPA c soccer team Bandari’ was relegated from the top soccer league.

The women basketball team who had just returned from a disastrous trip to Benin where they won only a game at the 15th Fiba Africa championship, surrendered the national league trophy which they held onto for the last five years to a self sponsored team Eagle Wings.

The men basketball team from whom much was expected after finishing top at the end of the regular season league were lost to the defending champions Kenya Commercial Bank Lions in the best of three final.

Ironically, KPA teams are the best taken care of teams in the country, with all the modern training facilities, hefty allowances whenever playing either locally or outside the country and ample training time, with players getting months of full release from work to concentrate on practice during a busy season.

Weekend trip

For a trip outside Mombasa , a KPA player pockets a minimum of Sh6000 while the teams management gets as much as Sh30,000 for a single weekend trip to Nairobi in allowances. The figure is even bigger when a team goes out of the country on assignment where players get a minimum of sh50,000 while the management team’s allowances runs as high as sh250,000.

Bandari soccer players for example cannot remember when they last reported to their work stations because the players have been on full release the entire season. The women basketball team members, all of whom have jobs except for leading scorer and Kenya’s best defensive player Helen Oketch, get a months full release before any important championships and towards the end of the league season.

The basket-ballers who are all jobless save for Dan Okwiri, Musa Odari and Mike Opel. They all also have enough training time. With some of the best coaches in the country in Anthony Ojukwu and Sammy Kiki for the basketball teams and Yusuf Chipo and Salim Mwandawiro fo r the soccer team, one wonders why KPA teams could not win a single trophy the entire season.

That the women basketball team, the most exposed team in the country having featured in all the past ten Africa club championships, lost to a self sponsored team Eagle Wings whose players have to scratch for such basics as transport to and from the training ground and league matches, needs an explanation.

KPA’s personnel manager Jane Kamau whose docket includes sports cannot be blamed for the team’s poor performance after the cooperation gave the teams all manner of support they needed to perform.

“For the over 20 years I have been associated with sports at KPA, we have always made sure that our players and technical officials are well taken care off be it in allowances, salaries or whatever it might be”, Kamau said in an earlier interview, adding that the teams at times even travel weeks in advance for training camps whenever they had a crucial away league matches.

Kamau, however feels poor recruitment methods have cost KPA teams dearly. “The last time KPA recruited the best basketball players was in the year 2000 when we had five players from the then national schools champions Mombasa High School. Since then, the technical officials have not done a good job in recruitment always ending up with their friends or experienced but old players who cannot compete for a year or two,” Kamau said.

The players who were recruited from Mombasa High School then and who have helped KPA to win back to back league titles include Ethel Wakesho, Miriam Wandanda (now in Seattle Washington USA), Jackline Wasuda (now in Texas USA), Gladys Wanyama (now in Tennessee USA), Fadya Mohammed in KPA but retired, Susan Joan still in KPA and Josephine Achieng Owino,the first Kenyan to be drafted into WNBA with the Washington Mystics but now playing professional basketball in Turkey.

Bandari coach Yusuf Chipo blamed the team’s poor showing in the season and relegation to age saying most of his players are over the hill and could not therefore match the speed and agility of their more youthful opponents.Yet it should be remembered that Twahir Muhidin and his team manager Edward Oduor were removed from the sports department just when they had announced a recruitment drive for young players after identifying eight senior players for retirement. This idea did not go down well with the management and partly contributed to the team’s problems.

KFF senior vice chairman Twaha Mbarak views things differently.Mbarak believes KPA has entrusted their team to people with little knowledge of how to run a football team. “I have been trying to discuss with the team management ways of improving the performance of the team but they are completely blank in ideas,” Mbarak says of the KPA sports officials.

He says internal politics which saw the total overhaul of the sports department early this year did not do KPA any good. Former international Mahmoud Abbas says Bandari has never had good players since last year when the players started engaging in divisive politics and had advised new coach Chippo to overhaul the team and bring in new players with new ideas and energy to take the team to greater heights when he accepted the appointment.

“I warned Chippo well in advance that he should only accept to coach Bandari with conditions that he must overhaul the entire team, especially the players Twahir Muhidin had identified for retirement but he did not take me seriously and believed me only when the team was relegated.

While basketball coaches Ojukwu and Kiki are all in agreement that there is need to pump new blood into the women basketball team whose average age of players is 30, Kiki believes the idea will not work if some players are not removed from the team altogether.

“There are some senior players who are against change and have been frustrating any new recruits at KPA for fear of losing their positions and allowances associated with playing for the team. I think these players should first be shown the door before new players are brought in otherwise it will be an effort in futility”, Kiki said at a recent interview with the nation.

Ojukwu who is the men’s nationaln team head coach agrees with Kiki on the same and says he has identified ten youthful players whom he believes will change the team’s fortunes.

“I have this time gone for young players and has identified ten players with the help of international basketball instructor Ronnie Owino who I think should take KPA to greater heights come next year”, Ojukwu who also admits there is a cartel of players who have been frustrating recruits said. But there is a general feeling that KPA the sports department needs to to more to improve the performances of corporation’s teams.

THE new leadership of the Tanzania Basketball Federation (TBF) has set plans to promote the sport from the grassroots level.

TBF's Assistant Secretary General Michael Maluwe said today that, to start with, the programme will dwell on coaching seminars for teachers in secondary schools.
"In schools, the students would be able to play basketball more competitively", he said.
He said that the new leaders who were voted into office about a week ago face a big challenge of raising funds.
"The federation is cash strapped and we need funds for all our programmes to succeed", he said.

He said that the charity match earlier planned to be held in October would be given a top priority next year.
"We were forced to postpone the match for lack of enough funds. Hopefully we will be able to get sponsors next year", Maluwe said.

The federation had planned to raise over 700m/- from the high profile match which was to be attended by President Jakaya Kikwete, ministers, retired sportsmen and women as well as Members of Parliament.
He said that funds would be used to build basketball courts in schools across the country.
He urged the government to find them a good coach who will conduct seminars in schools.

The Grand Finale of the D'Elite Stomp the Yard Hoops was held at the Legon Campus in Accra. The ten males champions and ten female champions teams from the ten communities were all in attendance. It was the battle of the titans and basketball fans from all over Accra and also outside of Accra were in attendance. The three courts on the campus ground were all used for the games which started at 10am and finished at 10pm. It was a whole day of class basketball at its best. Hoops was in Group B along with Magic, Atoms, Humble Rastas and De Wolves. Group B were Tema Youth, Legon Lions, Yotive, Panthers and Dream Team. Hoops won three and lost one in the group stages to advance to the knockout round on top of their group, defeating Yotive in the knockout round to set for a final showdown. Humble Rastas who came second in Group A defeated the Tema Youth boys to meet Hoops who earlier beat them in the group stage. In the final they were no match to the attack and defense as the boys who were smelling gold did not let their foot of the peddle beating them for the championship. It was total celebration in the Hoops Camp. If one can right recall, Hoops won the first tournament of the year in Tema and has now won the last tournament of the year in Accra. The other event of the day which many were waiting for was the slam dunk competition. Saykan Bestman of Cape Coast Hoops won the event after jumping over a car in his final dunk. That sent the crowd into a frenzy. . We are the Champions and we thank all our fans, supporters and well wishers for been there for us through out and we wishing all a merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

If confidence was to be used as a yardstick to determine men’s champions of the MTN-Fuba League, DMark Power would have taken the trophy without touching a ball.

Their confidence, however, was beyond necessary. Precisely put, they were over confident and paid heavily for that in the end. And you couldn’t fault them for approaching the 2009 season with boundless confidence.

Spending spree
They were the defending champions and added the Blick brothers Norman and Donald to their array of stars at an estimated Shs30m. The signing of Michael Kojjo, who is a sure contender for the Rookie of the Year award made them look a very solid team capable of stopping any opponent. Rugby star Allan Musoke, who also made a highly publicised switch to Power, declared; “This team can go unbeaten throughout the season.”
By making such a declaration, Musoke probably forgot that the other top teams were also busy in the transfer market. Warriors relentlessly tried to sign Stephen Omony but lost the battle to Falcons.

Omony, returning from Seychelles side PSL Hawks, penned a Shs72m contract, which made him the most expensive player in Uganda’s history.
Falcons’ patron John Ssimbwa summed it up; “This is a landmark in Uganda’s basketball.” After losing out on Omony, Warriors’ boss Ambrose Tashobya landed Abdullahi Ramathan and Martin Okwako from Tanzania and Kenya respectively.
The duo signed two-year contracts but still never looked like they were going to help Warriors shed off their nearly-men tag after Power edged them 90-88 in their first round encounter in June.
If there was ever going to be a time to gauge local teams’ metal, it was during the Fiba Sprite Zone 5 tournament held in Kampala in August.

Zone 5 test
As hosts, Uganda were given leeway to field three teams (men and women). Power, Falcons and Warriors entered the men’s fray while KCC Leopards, A-1 Challenge and KIU Rangers, taking the place of 2008 league champions UCU Lady Canons, tried out their luck in the women’s category.

Unbelievably, Warriors found themselves in the same group with Power. Warriors once again lost to Power (96-98) but that result was irrelevant as they sailed to the final.
Power got eliminated in the preliminaries while Falcons, the only Ugandan side to have won the Zone 5, couldn’t make it out of the other group. Warriors lost the final to Cooperative Bank of Kenya 47-53 but the admiration that they earned from the thousands of fans that thronged YMCA, Wandegeya changed the club’s fortunes.
“Although we’ve failed to take the trophy, this has been a good tournament. Everyone now knows that Warriors mean business,” Ramathan, one of the outstanding players of the hugely successful tournament, remarked. It’s tough to choose the team of that tournament between Warriors and KCC Leopards.


In the women’s sort, KCC Leopards were exceptional. Their 74-66 semi-final victory over Rwanda’s APR was the biggest shock of the tournament. “I expected a tougher fight from them but I’m surprised,” KCC Leopards coach Timothy Odeke explained after the victory. “Maybe they undermined us.
Leopards lost the final to Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) 47-65 but their performance, too, was satisfactory unlike A-1 Challenge and KIU Rangers, who failed to negotiate the group stages.

Oketcho factor
Although Odeke couldn’t single out any player for praise, it was clear Flavia Oketcho’s acquisition from Lady Canons that made KCC Leopards a complete outfit.

Even though she missed out on the 3-0 league semifinal whitewash of KIU Rangers, Oketcho returned from United Kingdom to spur KCC Leopards to their first league title in three years.

Their opponents A-1 Challenge put up a brave fight in the seven-game final series but went down 4-1 after Josephine Namayega’s blunder in Game Four robbed them of an opportunity to remain in contention.

Fourth-place fight
The Fuba technical committee headed by William Musaazi had the roughest time in the league, even worse than Ivan Enabu (UCU Canons) and Falcons’ Sande Okot whom they banned for one year because of an ugly fight between Falcons and UCU Canons.
Musaazi and company were responsible for the avoidable relegation battle between KCC Lions and UCU Canons. The technical committee provided both teams with two different times for their rescheduled game in October.
As a result, UCU reported late for the game after KCC Lions had been awarded four points by forfeiture. UCU Canons managed to force a replay but KCC Lions rejected the idea and sought the intervention of National Council of Sports (NCS) in order to survive relegation.
“This is no ordinary match. It’s a match of life and death. If we lose, we will get relegated, if UCU Canons lose they will be relegated.

That’s why we are not accepting a replay,” KCC Lions official Denis Karugaba reasoned while brushing off Fuba’s call for fair play in trying to determine which of the two teams goes to the second tier. NCS forced Fuba to retain both teams in First Division, implying that only Knight Riders will go down.

With Berkley and St Michael getting promoted from the Second Division, the topflight will have an unusual 11 teams and the fraternity’s dissatisfaction with the technical committee looks set to continue into the New Year.
“My thinking is that all technical committee members should resign,” former Fuba executive committee member and DMark Power technical director Peter Mubanda reasoned; “They have totally messed up the league.”

Enabu got his suspension reduced to six months but the disciplinary record of his UCU Canons team was further dented by Ken Rot’s bottle-throwing antics during Game Three between Warriors and Power.
Rot’s ruckus that lasted over 20 minutes was the ugliest scene of the season. The off-court action, though, never curtailed Warriors’ vitality. Power totally had no answers to the many questions Warriors posed over the five games in the finals.
A 4-1 victory meant that Warriors landed their first title and the abysmal display in the Kigali-hosted Africa Club Championship should be of little concern.

It was an eye opener and Warriors will definitely go places in the coming season next year.

BY TIMOTHY MUVUNYI

Year Ranking Venue
2007 Angola 9th
2008 Tunisia 8th

2009 Rwanda 3rd

Cliff Owour, the head coach of APR basketball club, the Indomitable Lions has praised his players’ effort, which saw them take third place in the just concluded Fifa Africa Club Championship in Kigali.

“We were just realistic about the competition. We did the best. I knew the kind of challenge we were going face and the players responded accordingly,” said Owour.

The Kenyan train, 32 had earlier before the tournament predicted his team would finish third, and indeed his prediction became a reality as APR beat DR Congo champions Mazembe 92-80 in the third place playoff.

“I knew Angolan teams were going to dominate and after them, it was us to battle with the rest for the third place and we managed to achieve it.”

The former Kenyan international believes that we good sponsors and better preparations, his indomitable lions have the potential to contest the final of the next championship in Morocco.

Defending champions Primeiro de Agosto beat Luanda archrivals Petro Atletico 88-64 to win their second consecutive continental title.

Third place for APR meant that the Rwandan champions moved five slots up on the African ranks having finished eighth last year in Tunisia and ninth a year before in Angola.

Second placed Troopers narrowed the gap at the top of the basketball league last Saturday by beating leaders, Police, 78-53 at the Sir Seretse Khama Barracks. With 23 points, the defending champions are now only a single point behind Police. Police captain, James Kalebwu said he was disappointed with their loss against Troopers.

He said Police faced a mammoth task on the day because they have never beaten Troopers in a league game. Troopers are last year's league champions and are favourites to retain the crown.

Kalebwu said they expected to win the game this time around as they have had a good season. "We have had a very good season and this was the game that was going to prove to us that we have what it takes," he said. He stated that they dominated the game but started losing concentration in the third quarter. He said Troopers have more experienced players than his side and that is why they are hard to beat. "We nurture our players from an early age whilst Troopers have experienced players, some from outside the country," he said.

Kalebwu praised Troopers saying they deserved the win as they are a more organised side. He said the defeat will not discourage them because they are going back to the drawing board to review their game plan. "We are going to concentrate more and make sure that we stay top of the league," he promised. He said his team will surely surprise Troopers as they are going to steal the title when least expected. "We will have our full squad and we will be more prepared," he said.

Ratanang Tsayang, Troopers captain said he is happy about the result of the Saturday game although their objective was to score more than 100. He said they tried new systems in the game and that is why Police dominated. "There are instances where we lost concentration and made mistakes but in the end, we were able to win," he said. He added that his team needs to learn how to play controlled balls because the players have no problem with scoring. He stated that his team has problems in defence and stamina and they will improve on these aspects. He urged his teammates to attend practice so that they do not lose stamina during matches. "If our teammates respect practice, then we are sure to take the trophy home again this year round," he said.

Results for other league games over the weekend

Eagles 74 NIIT 85
Cadets 91 Eagles 57
Police 58 Troopers 73
NIIT 36 Spartans 82
BDF V 78 Cadets 74

WOMEN
Police 67 NIIT 17
Relics 36 BDF V 61

Dolphins and Splinters have been suspended from the basketball league for failing to honour three consecutive fixtures.

The troubled league is running without a sponsor. A number of clubs have failed to honour fixtures, hence the Botswana Basketball Association (BBA) league committee has decided to set an example by suspending Dolphins and Splinters.

The committee chairman, Kabo Khama said the two clubs will remain suspended until the end of the season. He said they failed to give reasons for their failure to honour games.
He stated that this was a disturbing trend and the league committee was left with no option but to slap the teams with a ban. "A team like Dolphins has never shown up, even for a single game while Splinters started off well but seemed to lack motivation," he said.

Khama however clarified that the two clubs are still members of the BBA and will be allowed to participate in the league next season.
He told clubs to stop taking fixtures for granted because this dents the league's image.
Despite the absence of a sponsor, Khama said the level of competition has exceeded expectation. He stated that clubs in Francistown, Gaborone and Selebi-Phikwe face transport problems and this led to some of them failing to fulfil fixtures.

He said BBA has sorted out the problem of shortage of match officials. Meanwhile, the women's league, which started two months late, will conclude this weekend.

Khama said the league could not start on time because of a shortage of clubs. He said most clubs disbanded after last year's tournament. There are only four women clubs in the league - Relics, BDF V, Police and NIIT. Khama said because the league started late, the BBA decided to play only a single round of matches. BDF V are top of the table followed by Police while Relics are third and NIIT are last. Khama said the BBA hopes to see an increase in the number of women clubs next season.

MASERU-Rats’olo Molupe of Khubetsoana All Stars basketball club on Saturday said that Lesotho`s basketball clubs desperately need qualified coaches to groom youngsters from the early age.

Rats`olo said players should be fully developed from their respective clubs. “Most of the clubs do not have qualified coaches and this is a setback to the development of the sport in the country. Senior players are compelled to assume the responsibility of coaches and that is too heavy for them as they also have to play,” he said.

He expressed that there are many problems that hinder the development of the sport, but like any other sport financial problems are the major stumbling block. “We can not engage ourselves in international competitions because we do not have adequate funds, competing with other international teams is fundamental because we get exposure and learn some new skills from our African counterparts,” he said.

Rat`tsolo told Informative that their major goal is to play in many tournaments with South African basketball clubs in an effort to improve. “We want to have many tournaments with SA clubs, we hope that will motivate players hence developing the sport,” he said.
The will be Summer Slam basketball tournament on the 12th December 2009 for local clubs Lesotho Basketball league is made up of 7 clubs.

The LK Boys were unable to defend the late Pa Modou Sarr Memorial Basketball tournament they won last year. The YMCA Basketball team won the fifth edition in the finals on Saturday against Serekunda East.
The final that was played at the Serekunda West Basketball lawn saw the YMCA narrowly defeated their Serekunda East opponents by 39 points to 38.

The late Pa Modou Sarr Basketball tourney is an eight team tournament played annually for the past five years in respect of the former Gambia and YMCA Basketball player Pa Modou Sarr.

Pa Modou Sarr died in a car crash in the United States of America in 2004 and “the family and friends used the tourney to remember him” Abdoulie Secka member of the organizing committee told Gambia Sports Online.

The eight participating teams for this year’s edition were, Wallidan, Jeshwang, Serekunda West, Serekunda East, Lamin, Presentation, YMCA and last year’s winners the LK Boys.

Serrekunda West Sports Organization is gearing up to stage basketball championships just weeks after completing its summer activities, Alhagie Amat Cham Public Relations Officer of the organization, has disclosed.
According to Amat, six teams have already registered with them to stage the championships.

Amat said they are engaging in this because they have completed their first priority. “Our priority was to organize a successful Nawettan and also organize third division qualifiers which we did successfully,

“Our Nawettan is over and just last week we finished with our third division qualifiers so now we have to organize other sports and the first we have in mind is basketball. We have planned for it for a long time now but thankfully we now have six teams. Registration is open till December 31, 2009.

After this day we will close down registration because a date has been set for the commencement of the championship so interested teams can still come and register with us for the championship,” he said.

Alhagie Amat Cham, said their main reason for organizing such a championship is to bring back the golden days of basketball. Amat said his committee had realized recently basketball that is why they are trying to revive the sport.

“In those days Amat recalls, basketball used to be a big sport in the country but today rarely do you hear of a basketball championship but with this we believe we can re-ignite the love for the sport. We want to see the days where from watching a league game, you can go straight to the basketball court to watch a basketball game like it use to be in the 80s.”

Amat confirms that notables such as Wallidan, Serrekunda East, YMCA and Ebo Town will be participating in the league championship.

He said because registration is open till December 31; participating teams might exceed six. He also stated that after basket ball they might organize another sport.

Apart from the national league, there was not much basketball action in 2009. The Botswana Basketball Association (BBA) continued to struggle to find a sponsor for the league, but nevertheless carried on. The league was however marred by teams' failure to honour fixtures, resulting in the association coming down hard on errant clubs. The BBA amended its constitution and came up with tough regulations to deal with the problem.Two Francistown-based clubs, Dolphins and Splinters were suspended from the league for failure to fulfill fixtures.

Troopers continued their dominance, winning the domestic league once again. BDF V won in the women's category. Despite the league running without a sponsor, BBA managed to find sponsors for the mid-season basketball tournament and for the end of season play-offs. Aktiv Sports financed the mid-season event and Beemark sponsored the play-offs. BBA revived the women's league, which has been dormant for years.

The association organised training courses for coaches and officials. A total of 20 coaches completed Level One and Two courses. About 30 referees and match officials were trained.

The national team did not participate in any regional or international competition this year. However, the development sides did well with the Under-17 boys winning bronze and girls getting silver in COSASSA Games in September.

Mimbulu, who are the reigning Central Zone Basketball (Cezobal) champions, defeated Bricks 67-60 in a thrilling final.

National club champions Mimbulu and runners-up Bricks have qualified for next years Zone VI basketball club championship slated for Mozambique in November.

Basketball Association of Malawi (Basmal) vice president Jacob Chikoya said the two automatically qualified after impressing in the national championship last weekend at African Bible College.
Mimbulu, who are the reigning Central Zone Basketball (Cezobal) champions, defeated Bricks 67-60 in a thrilling final.
However, the two sides must raise over K1 million each to travel to Maputo for the Zone VI games.
“They have ample time to do fundraising activities to participate in Zone VI games,” Chikoya said.

Mimbulu senior player Daud Suleiman said they intend to participate in the event.
“We will involve Barlet Mafuleka (Cezobal vice president) to help us to raise funds,” he said.
Suleiman said they would like to compete in a lot of international tournaments.
“As Mimbulu we need to move a step up and not only look at Zone Six games but we will actively engage international games over the coming year to expose our players,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mafuleka said Cezobal will come up with various activities to help Mimbulu realise their plans.

Bricks forward Weluzani Chingota said they were gathering necessary information.
“We would like to participate. We just want to calculate how much it could cost us,” he said.

Chingota said by then Bricks would have rediscovered their top form.
Mimbulu received K100,000 for emerging champions while Bricks got K75,000.
Chidaya won the late James Gwaza memorial award.

Central Zone Basketball League (Cezobal) has called 25 players to start preparations for All Stars tournament slated for mid January in Lilongwe.

Cezobal general secretary Herbert Chidaya said they would like to become a force to reckon with.

“We want to end Southern Zone Basketball League (Sozobal) superiority. That effort has already started after Mimbulu (from Cezobal) won the national club championship,” he said.

Chidaya said they have engaged two experienced coaches Durrel Adams and Dean Lungu Jr to drill the side.

“These coaches have what it takes to help us achieve our mission,” he said.

Chidaya said they would instill discipline in the team.

“Players who will report late for training will be sent back and those that will miss a training session will not play in the tournament,” he said.

Meanwhile, the following players have been called for training at a venue to be announced later: Henry Gomani (Alliance One), Albert Simango, Daud Suleiman, Bernard Banda, Mphatso Zilemba (Mimbulu), Willard Lisuwa, Rocky Kaunda (Trojans), Adam Kara, Chimwemwe Mulagha, Tony Kamanga (Blazers), Zewele Kholowa, Robert Kamanga, Limbani Yatina, Takondwa Menueli (Cougars), Lenzo, Kondwani Nyanda (Bayonets), Jeremiah Kamanga (Disciples), Jeff Kumwenda (Blazers/ ABC Lions), Smoke Yamikani (Mdzodzo), Brian Kumwenda, Jim Chakoloma (Pirates), Hope Msowoya, Henry Mwalwana (ABC Lions), Harold Nazombe (Para Tropers) and Aubrey Nyekanyeka (Bunda Buffaloes).

BY BONNIE MUGABE

APR Basketball Club head coach Cliff Owour is optimistic that the future of Rwandan basketball is bright after his team finished third in the 24th Fiba Africa Club championship, which ended Tuesday in Kigali.

Owuor said, “The future of the country’s basketball looks bright. The younger players will be motivated to play like these foreigner players, a feat which will elevate their standards in a few years to come.”

Cedric Isom powered his side to a third place finish after beating DR Congo’s ASB Mazembe 92-80 points. Isom led the floor with 37 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds to give his side a well deserved victory over the Congolese side that had rallied to an early lead of 22-16 and 23-21 of the first two quarters of the explosive game going into the break with a 45-37 points’ advantage.

Mazembe’s forward Mbav Kabwit recorded 26 points and 9 rebounds to pick the quarter at 20-21 to take a slim one point advantage into the last quarter and continued the bombardment of the Mazembe side with a barrage of three pointers by Isom who was on fire for his side.

Isom was joined by fellow point guard, Mathew Miller who netted 21 points and 3 assists, Robert Thomson recorded a double of 13 rebounds and 10 points while Michael Bazangu added 12 points and 7 rebounds.

Miller scooped the best three pointer gong while Isom was named in the team of the tournament.

BY BONNIE MUGABE

RWANDA is stepping up the gear in her bid to host the 2013 FIBA Africa Basketball Championship for men, President of Rwanda Basketball Federation, Lt. Eric Salongo Kalisa has said.

Kalisa, who played a crucial role in convincing top officials of the continental body to bring the club championship in Kigali, said on Tuesday night that the African body, Fiba-Africa is very receptive of Rwanda’s bid to host the biennial championship.

“FIBA Africa has welcomed our bid to host the 2013 African Championship after hosting a successful 2009 Africa Club Champions Cup.
“We have the ability to host the tournament considering that FIBA-Africa has given us a nod to host it,” Kalisa said.
The youthful administrator said the plan is to bid and host the 2013 Afrobasket for men as they have set out a four year plan to achieve that goal.
“Our ambition as a federation and as a country is to stage the biggest basketball competition in Africa, the FIBA Africa Championship for Men,”
“We can assure the continental ruling body that the government is strongly behind our plan and we are set to build a new and bigger court,” Kalisa added.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports and Culture (Minispoc), Jean Pierre Karabaranga has promised support from the government to facilitate the construction of another gymnasium ahead of the 2013 Fiba Africa Championship.
“Hosting a continental championship is the responsibility of the government therefore we are willing to work on our infrastructures before hosting the tournament,” Karabaranga said.

Meanwhile, Nigeria has made a bid to host the 2011 African Basketball Championship for Men.

Nigeria will however face stiff competition from two other African countries, West African neighbours, Cote d’Ivoire and Madagascar host of the 2009 FIBA Africa Championship for Women.

The winners of the 2011 Afrobasket tournament will represent Africa at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

By Brown Msyani

Serengeti Breweries Company (SBC) under 7UP banner plans to revive basketball, which lost grip after withdrawal of long time sponsors, TBL.

Company's national marketing manager Vic Ramil disclosed yesterday that their sponsorship would start with effect from next year.

Speaking during the closing ceremony of the 7UP Basketball Gala at Mlimani City, Ramil said his firm had already devised apt strategies which would help lift the sport to the desired level.

The TBL ended their support to Dar es Salaam Basketball (BD) this season and no any high profile tournament was staged.
"We will work closely with Tanzania Basketball Federation (TBF), hopefully our involvement in basketball will bear fruits," he said.

Even as the official pledged the support, he declined to mention areas his firm would start supporting.
Newly elected secretary general of the TBF, Alexander Msofe hinted that the sponsors would dish out money to support the National Basketball League (NBL) and Taifa Cup.
"These are our major annual tournaments, thus we believe they will help stage them," he said.

The withdrawal of the TBL dealt a big blow to the recently inaugurated RBA League.

Various basketball enthusiasts lavished praises on the SBC�s decision to promote basketball.

BY OSTINE ARINAITWE

Fiba Africa club championship

Final
Primeiro 88-64 Petro Atletico

Third place playoff
APR 92- 80 Mazembe

Classification games
Co-op Bank 68-77 Inter-club
Kano Pillars 107-76 ASPAC

Primeiro d’Agosto of Angola retained the Fiba Africa Club Championship title they won last year in Tunisia with a convincing 88-64 points win over archrivals Petro Atletico in the final played last evening at Amahoro stadium court.
The Luanda based club, inspired by last year’s Most Valuable Player [MVP] Joaquim Gomes won the first two quarters; 19-16 and 22-17 as the Primeiro took a first half advantage of 8-point, 41-33.

2006 champions, Petro Atletico fought back ferociously in the third quarter but were still beaten by a more determined and articulate Primeiro side, who also took the third quarter 21-20 hence extending their lead going into the last quarter.
However, as the intensity of the game grew and time running out, Petro Atletico’s Curtis Terry was sent off by the referee for making uncomplimentary remark after a charge foul was called against him thus putting his team under severe pressure.
Terry’s sending off didn’t help his team’s cause as they went on to lose the fourth and final quarter 26-11.
Primeiro’s Carlos Almeida led the floor with a game high 24 points, Armando Costa recorded 18 points and 4 assists, Joaquim Gomes had 15 points and 16 rebounds with Ferlizardo Ambrosio adding 11 points and 6 rebounds.
Mario Porter and Eduardo Mingas led Petro’s charge with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 12 points and 6 rebounds respectively.

Host club APR finished in third place after beating DR Congo’s champions Mazembe 92-80.

Primeiro’s Vladimir Jeronimo was voted MVP, while APR’s Mathew Miller took home the best three pointer gong.
Primeiro will represent Africa at the 2010 FIBA World Championship which will be hosted by Turkey from August 28 to September 12.

The President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) President Mr. Tijjani Umar has called for concerted action from all members of the extended basketball family if improvement must be achieved in the way the game is positioned in Nigeria. Umar made the call over the weekend in Abuja during the Annual General Meeting of the Basketball Federation. The meeting which had delegates from across the country held at the National Institute for Sports (Athlete Development Centre) located at the Package B area of the Abuja National Stadium.

“It is in the interest of the game that we open up the system; all doors and frontiers and that is the reason for holding this very meeting. If we want to be the number two sport of the nation we must endeavour to be number two effectively,” Umar told the gathering in his welcome address.

He told the house that it was the determination of the board to have quality relationship with existing sponsors; explore new roads to expanding such partnership while opening new orders.

“We desire that all affiliates run along with us on the same wave length in the set objectives in marketing our products and events and for that reason we brought in consultants in the fields of marketing and ICT management to address this gathering. Specifically, the aim is to establish, maintain and manage a credible database system capable of adequately delivering our mandate.”

The Sports Minister was represented by the Deputy Director Technical and Coaching in the National Sports Commission Mr. Miko Diso. The Minister acknowledged taking note of the issues raised on funding the Federations but specifically congratulated the NBBF board for the achievements made so far at both the local international levels.

“The way this meeting has been packaged and the zeal shown so far in making adequate independent funding and capacity development surely encourages the Sports Ministry. I wish you can keep the tempo going and satisfy the yearnings of stakeholders of this game,” he said.

Mr Kunle Raji and of Global Sports Concept and Nelson Imeh of Hybrid Sports Management took the delegates through the marketing and communication technology sessions. The meeting had delegates from all the states in the South West, South East and South South zones except for Abia, Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi States. From the northern part of the country, Sokoto, Katsina and Adamawa States were among those absent. The session which is planned to run on annual basis was conducted in open session with questions and contributions from the delegates. The representatives of the states received the balls donated to the country by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). The congress was preceded by the NBBF Board meeting at the same. The meeting which held Friday night approved amongst other things the working committees of the Federation.

Pius Ayinor, FIBA Africa

Primeiro d’Agosto small forward Vladmir Jeronimo was crown the Most Vlauable Players (MVP of the 24th edition of the FIBA Africa Champions Club for men.

31 years old Primeiro forward beat seven other contenders including 2008 MVP Joaquim Gomes to the crown.
He was also voted as one of the continent Top-5 players, Mohammed Bukar of ASPAC basketball club was the competition leading scorer with 179 points from seven games, Gomes won the best rebounder award with 66 rebounds from seven games, Mathew Miller of APR Lions was the best three point shooter with 23 made shots.
Other members of the honour list include Cedric Isom of APR Lions voted as the best point guard, Petro combo-guard, Curtis Terry was the best off-guard, Eduardo Mingas was voted the competition best power-forward while Rodrigo Mascarenhas was voted the best centre.

Interclub basketball club of Congo Brazzaville won the fair-play award just as APR Lions, Petro Atletico and Primeiro d’Agosto got the bronze, silver and gold medals respectively.

Primeiro d’Agosto basketball club of Angola Tuesday retained the African title it won last year in Tunisia with an 88-64 points win over fellow Angolan Petro Atletico basketball club in the final of the 2009 edition of the competition.

The Joaquim Gomes inspired Primeiro side won the first two quarters by 19-16 and 22-17 points gaining 8 points advantage going into the break by 41-33 points.
Eduardo Mingas and his Petro Atletico side fought back ferociously at the resumption of hostility in the third quarter but were still beaten the game by a more determined and articulate Primeiro side who also took the quarter by 21-20 points thus extending the lead by one more point of 62-53 points going into the last quarter.

Primeiro continue its search for a second straight title in the last quarter caging the Petro side with every passing second turning into frustration for the 2007 champion with Curtis Terry being sent off by the referee for making uncomplimentary remark after a charge foul was called against him thus putting the Petro under severe pressure losing the quarter by 26-11 points for a cumulative score-line of 88-64 points.

Primeiro Carlos Almeida led the floor with 24 points, Armando Costa recorded 18 points and 4 assists, Joaquim Gomes had a double double of 16 rebounds and 15 points with Ferlizardo Ambrosio adding 11 points and 6 rebounds.

Petro duo of Mario Porter and Eduardo Mingas recorded 18 points, 9 rebounds and 12 points 6 rebounds each for their side.
Pimeiro got a gold medal and a giant trophy, Petro settles for the silver while host APR Lions got the bronze medal.

Interclub basketball club of Congo Brazzaville Tuesday beat Cooperative Bank basketball club of Kenya to the seventh position of the final round of the 2009 edition of FIBA Africa Champions Club for Men.

The Brazzaville-based side won the first, third and fourth quarters by 21-13, 17-13 and 20-17 leaving the Kenya to run away with a 25-19 points win in the second quarter for a cumulative score-line of 77-68 points.
Interclub Frank Mbatchi led the floor with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steal to set the tune for his side victory.
His compatriot, Chris Silas recorded 14 points and 8 rebounds while Damely Boungou added 13 points and 4 rebound just as Ayman Konozy grabbed 11 rebounds for his side.
Cooperative Bank Ocheng Ajik led his team with 15 points and 8 rebounds, Moses Kamou contributed 15 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steal with Peter Karuri adding 13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and one block-shot.
Cooperative Bank basketball club, thus ending the 2009 FIBA Africa season as the continent eight best club side.

Cedric Isom Tuesday power his team, APR Lions basketball club of Rwanda to a third place finish beating ASB Mazembe basketball club of Democratic Republic of Congo by 92-80 points in the 24th FIBA Africa Champions Club for Men.

Isom recorded 37 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds to give his side a well deserved victory over the Congolese side who had rallied to and early lead of 22-16 and 23-21 of the first two quarters of the explosive game going into the break with a 45-37 points advantage.

The home side backed by vociferous fans roared back to live in the third quarter curtailing the Congolese spurred on by forward Mbav Kabwit who record 26 points and 9 rebounds to pick the quarter at 20-21 to take a slim one point advantage into the last quarter and continued the bombardment of the Mazembe side with barrage of three points play by Isom who was on fire for his side.

APR Lions against picked the last quarter by 25-14 points for a final score-line of 92-80 points enough to give the bronze of the competition and an upward push from last year sixth place finishing they had in Tunisia.
Isom was joined by fellow point guard, Mathew Miller with 21 points and 3 assists, Robert Thomson who seem to be absent in the early part of the game recorded a double double of 13 rebounds and 10 points while Michael Bazangu added 12 points and 7 rebounds.

Nigeria and FIBA Africa Zone-III champion, Kano Pillars basketball club Tuesday afternoon maintain its fifth position in the continent most prestigious club competition with a 107-76 points win over ASPAC basketball club of Benin Republic in the position 5-6 classification game decided at the sports hall of the Amahoro stadium, Kigali, Rwanda.

The Nigerian side picked the first two quarters by 19-14 and 31-24 points to go on break with a 50-38 points advantage.

ASPAC bench tried a few trick upon resumption of play in the third quarter but the effort could give them a slim 24-23 points victory as the Kano Pillars team charged back in the fourth quarter with barrage of shots which resulted in a 34-14 points win for a final score-line of 107-76 points.

Though ASPAC youthful prodigy, Mohammed Bukar led the floor with 25 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steal with contributions from Romaric Quenum (13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steal) and Kamilou Salou making 13 points, the effort was not enough to save them from defeat.

Kano Pillars small forward, Ibrahim Yusuf led his team with 20 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steal and 2 assists, Abubakar Usman had 18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steal with team captain, Abdulrahman Mohammed adding 14 points.

ASPAC Head Coach, Peter Ahmedu says he is happy with the sixth position of the team sounding a note of warning to other teams on the continent that the next edition will see a different ASPAC side.

by Anthony A. Stephens

Former Liberian International basketball star Varfley Konneh has identified what he called a major factor responsible for the poor showing of NPA Pythons in the FIBA Zone III Men competition.
The LBF Triple Champions for the 5th time failed to cross the first round of the competition and lost all their three group matches despite winning the Fair Play Award.

Konneh, alias Sparo described Pythons failure to perform in the tournament on the lack of adequate preparation.
According to him the team did not have enough preparation for the showdown.

Sparo has also noticed the current squad of the LBF three times Champions was aging.

He says most of the key players on the team have out laid their usefulness and there was a need for the introduction in of a new breed of young and promising stars.

Some basketball followers have blamed NPA Pythons faliure in the competition on the absent of their Head Coach Matthew Gbamore, and the transfer of their tlasmanic player Mark Smith to Unuru Kings.

But Sparo disagreed and said the the absent of those individuals meant no harm for the club.
“It did not they went there two...three times with Matthew Gbamore and Mark Smith they didn’t cross the first round..in the absent of Maark Smith and Coach Gbamore they still didn’t craoss the group stage..they flop…” he said.

The Commissioner Head Coach also wants the Gbor Wilson led administration adjusts the timing of the league and improves the standard of Sports Commission.

According to him the poor timing of the league and the substandard court have a negative impact on the out put of the Country’s representatives in international competitions.

By Brown Msyani

Don Bosco edged out PTW 15-12 to win the 7UP Basketball Ladies Championship at Mlimani City on Sunday.

Inspirational players Sajda Ahmed and Hadija Kalambo slammed four points apiece to steer their side to the victory.
Gutsy PTW, who relied on Joyce Midodi and Nipael Kessy, fought desperately, but their efforts did not guarantee them the title.
Midodi troubled Don Bosco defence throughout the match, but her late three points were not enough to help her team win.

The tournament that was sponsored by SBC attracted 18 teams.

Durban Hotel, who pitted their wits against Southern Sun, managed to eclipse their rivals by 26-13 points to claim the men's title.
Wide experiences of the likes of William Mziray, Okare Onesmo and Lusajo Samuel help Durban finish the first half leading 13-1.
However, Southern Sun changed their tactics in the second half to add 12 points that wrapped up the score.

Mziray fired six points to emerge the match's top scorer followed by Okare Onesmo who chalked up five.

BY OSTINE ARINAITWE

•As home team APR look to seal third place

Fiba Africa club championship
Today
Classification games
Co-operative Bank vs Inter-club 13:00
ASPAC vs Kano Pillars 15:00
Third place playoff
APR vs Mazembe 17:00
Final
Primeiro de Agosto vs Petro Atletico

Fireworks will definitely go off inside Amahoro indoor stadium court when Angola’s archrivals Petro Atletico and Primeiro de Agosto clash in the final of the Fiba Africa Club Championship this evening.

Both clubs come into this tie with perfect record having won all their games of the two-week competition, though Petro Atletico were pushed all the way by DRC’s Mazembe in their semifinal clash on Sunday, which they won 90-88.

Primeiro coach Luis Magalhaes reckons that the match might get emotional and tense, but is confident his side will overcome their traditional rivals.
“The clubs have been playing each other in the Angolan basketball league for years, so things might get tense and emotional, but we are confident of defending our title,” Magalhaes told Times Sport.

Home side, APR will be looking for a win against Congolese outfit Mazembe to take third place.

Benin’s ASPAC will tussle it out with Nigeria’s Kano Pillars for fourth place, while Co-operative Bank of Kenya battles Inter club of Congo Brazzaville for fifth place.

Co-operative Bank are headed to finish a poor seventh or eighth in the 24th FIBA-Africa men’s basketball club championship when they meet Inter Club of Congo in their last classification tie at the Amahoro Stadium, Kigali, Rwanda on Tuesday.

The bankers hopes of finishing either in fifth or sixth position in the 10-day continental tournament went up in smoke when they lost their fifth consecutive match 89-62 to ASPAC of Benin on Sunday.

Inter Club had beaten Co-op Bank by eight-pointmargin (83-75) in their Group ‘’B’’ preliminary round match.
The Kenyans will need a miracle to avenge the defeat in today’s match to grab the seventh spot. A loss will see Co-op Bank finish second last in the championship which attracted only nine teams.

Uganda’s Warriors, the only team that failed to qualify for the quarter-finals, lie bottom in the nineth position.

Nigeria’s Kano Pillars won their first match 85-65 against Inter Club on Sunday leaving the two losers, Inter Club and Co-op Bank to face off on Tuesday.

The classification winners ASPAC of Benin and Kano Pillars also clash today to determine the fifth and sixth positions.

Co-op Bank were eliminated from the medal bracket when champions Petro Athletico of Angola rocked them 106-56 in the quarter-finals while Inter Club were shown the door by going down 99-88 to the impressive hosts Rwanda Patrioic Army.

Tuesday’s final will be an all Angolan affair as champions Primeiro d’ Agosto will take on their local rivals in Luanda, Petro Athletico.

Primeiro d’ Agosto, who are unbeaten in the tournament, knocked out the stubborn hosts APR 98-84 in an explosive second semi-final tie.

In the first semi-final, Petro Athletico bundled out the surprise team of the championship Mazembe of DRC 90-88.
Mazembe, who were placed last in their Group ‘A’ shocked ASPAC of Benin 86-82 in the quarter-final to qualify for the semi-final on Sunday.

Co-op Bank, who had lessons to learn from the championship, let ASPAC loose to lead 26-18 in the first quarter.

By Brown Msyani

Don Bosco today take on PTW Ladies in the 7UP Street Basketball women final match at Mlimani City Courts, Dar es Salaam.
Don Bosco romped into the final after edging out Jeshi Stars 12-8 in the hotly contested match played at the same venue.

In the men's category, Durban and Southern Sun also made it to the final. Southern Sun sealed their berth after defeating Movenpick 26-20 while Durban won the spot on walkover.

The final encounter pitting Don Bosco against PTW is deemed exhilarating and competitive.
"We have beaten them several times hence there is nothing to stop us from winning again," said Nina Mliga, Don Bosco's most experienced player.

The teams met in the preliminary rounds and Don Bosco managed to post a slim 21-18 victory over PTW.

PTW will rely on national team player Nipael Kessy who would team up with Veronica Patrick, Jacqueline Shemeza, Joyce Midodi and Mgadeve
Taking part at the venue for the first, the tournament aimed at drilling basketball players for the regional basketball league.
"It was very successful and we hope to stage the event again next year," said Saleh Zonga, one of the event's organizers.

By Brown Msyani

The hot chase for supremacy between Charles Makene of JKT and Adam Jegame of Chang'ombe Boys will be the main attraction of the Regional Basketball League opener at the National Indoor Stadium today.

It is the first match of this year's spectacular RBA League and it will revive the old rivalry between the two sides.

Both Makene and Jegame have been playing vital roles for their team's victories in the past matches of the Kili RBA League.

Chang'ombe Boys who were promoted early this year will use the match to regain their basketball stronghold, which they lost during a two-year suspension.

Basketball pundits are finding it difficult to predict the winner since both teams have quality players renowned for their tactical play.
"It is very unpredictable, let us wait and watch who will win this year," said Amani Temba, Chang'ombe Boys playmaker.

Other players expected to shine in the opener for JKT include dunk master Juma Kissocky, Frank Simkoko, Frank Kusiga and Neville Sitta.

The Dar es Salaam basketball body's Executive Director Mbaga Mwamboma said 14 teams would compete in this year's league for men and women based in Dar es Salaam.

The women teams include JKT Stars, Jeshi Stars, CMTU, Cargo Ladies, Don Bosco Lady lioness and Police.

The men's discipline has drawn JKT, Pazi, Savio, Oilers, ABC, Cargo, Tanzania Prisons, Chui and JKT Mgulani.

For the first time after 15 years, this year's league is not sponsored following the withdrawal of Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) who backed the league since 1990.

Mwamboma said there won't be any cash prizes as it used to be when the tournament had TBL backing.
"We hope to improve the prizes when we get an effective sponsorship," said Mwamboma.

RESULTS
Makerere 36-29 UCU (w)
Gulu 53-39 UMU (m)
KIU 42-44 Nkumba (m)
Must 38-47 Kyambogo (w)

After two days of action, Makerere and Ndejje are neck and neck in the race to win this year’s MTN-sponsored inter university games going on at Nkumba.
Considered underdogs by far prior to the 13th edition of the games that started Saturday, Makerere’s women basketball side battered Uganda Christian University (UCU) Mukono 36-29 on Sunday and now look favourites for the trophy.

The Makerere side had whitewashed the hosts 68-15 on the opening day. Their male counterparts also made a good start, winning their opening two games against Mbarara (46-26) and Kyambogo 71-51 respectively but must contend with Ndejje, KIU and the hosts, who are equally looking strong.

BY OSTINE ARINAITWE

•Defending champions beat home side to reach final

Fiba Africa club championship
Yesterday
Classification games
ASPAC 89-62 Co-operative Bank
Kano Pillars 85-65 Inter-club
Semi-finals
APR 84-94 Primeiro de Agosto
Petro Atletico 90–88 Mazembe
Today
Fourth place playoff
ASPAC vs Kano Pillars 15:00pm
Tomorrow
Third place playoff
Mazembe vs APR 15:00pm
Final
Primeiro vs Petro Atletico 17:00pm

APR’s dream of reaching the final of the Fiba Africa Club Championship was yesterday shattered when they lost 84-94 to defending champions Primeiro de Agosto of Angola.
Primeiro de Agosto went in to the match as favorites and had not lost any match in this competition; while APR hoped that their fans could spur them past the Luanda based side.

The Angolans led in three quarters-26-18, 21-19, 25-21, 26-26, but APR’s spirited performance drew applause from the fans, who included top Government officials and senior military officials.

Center forward Isom Cedric and point guard Mathew Miller led the Indomitable Lions’s charge with 26 and 23 points respectively.

While Primeiro’s Vradimir Geronimo scored a game high 32 points to send his team to second successive final.
Despite the loss, APR coach Cliff Owuor saluted his team for putting up a spirited performance against the more experienced Angolans.
“Though we shall not play the final, the lads did a magnificent job against the champions. I could not ask for more.
“We now have to regroup and think of Tuesday’s third place playoff match against Mazembe,” Owuor said.
The final will be a battle between Angola’s archrivals rivals Primeiro Atletico and Petro Atletico on Tuesday.

Brian Obimbo is becoming a major force for the University of Nairobi’s Terrorists.

Obimbo had 16 points and seven rebounds, and Yuval Genga added 12 points and six assists to lead the hosts to a huge 76-36 victory on Saturday over Daystar University on the second day of the National Inter-University Sports Championship at the University of Nairobi.

All five Terrorists starters finished in double figures. George Omenda scored 11 points, including two three-pointers, Paula Luvanda added another 11, and Wycliffe Othiambo bagged 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.

UoN players have a difficulty describing Obimbo’s impact – from leadership to his ability to step up in the second half on the way to their second straight championship win.

“What else do you want me to say?” Luvanda said of Obimbo, who has been starring for the former Premier League side. “The guy has been great. He’s rebounded, he’s scored, and he’s defended.... He’s just been outstanding for us.”

There are too many words to describe what Obimbo has meant to this team so far. He has been an energy guy, a guy who’s been a leader for this team, and a veteran. Going out and putting in the work that he has on and off the court has been amazing.

Aggrey Ojiambo scored 10 points for Daystar while Fred Njenga sunk eight points, with four rebounds, but that could do little to salvage the match that sunny morning.

Daystar, with 7:31 left to fulltime, capitalised on successive turnovers by the hosts, but Obimbo converted a three-point play when John Kabaa fouled him on a basket inside.
Obimbo then blocked two shots before hitting a fade-away from the baseline for a 34-63 UoN lead and Daystar never threatened the leaders for the rest of the way. In fact, they only managed a basket in 10 minutes of the last quarter.
“They put it on us,” Kabaa said. “We knew they would score a lot of points in the paint, and that they would hit the glass. We were ready for that.
“Unfortunately, they just got us in a bad way in those post-ups and Obimbo and Genga just got a lot of easy baskets.”
UoN turned up the defensive pressure in the second quarter as they enjoyed not only their deserved lead for the entire match but also the home ground status, too, came in handy.

Half-court affair

They stepped up their defence in the third quarter, forcing their opponents into bad shots. But Daystar were equally tough in their defence, making UoN work for their points. At some point in the quarter, it became a half-court affair for the most part of the dying seconds of the session.
Luvanda broke free for two dunks in the fourth quarter and he was two-for-nine shooting from the field.

results: Basketball: Kimathi 23 KU 57, UoN 84 KEMU 37, Strathmore 84 Moi 53, MMUST 20 MKU 0 (walkover MKU)

Mother luck saw Petro Atletico basketball club of Angola through a titanic semi-final battle against ASB Mazembe basketball club of Democratic Republic of Congo Sunday night of the 24th FIBA Africa Champions Club for Men holding in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Congolese side had stretched the Angolan to the limit taken a comfortable first quarter lead of 25-16 points, Petro a former Africa champion fought back in the second quarter winning the quarter by 28-25 points for a 50-44 points’ deficit.

Efforts by the Eduardo Mingas led Petro Atletico side continue the battle against the Mazembe side in the third quarter reducing the gap by one point via a 24-23 points win going into the last quarter trailing the more determined Congolese side by five points of 73-68 points.
The fourth quarter resumed with both sides going for each jugular with Petro tying the game at 88 points apiece with just ten seconds left in the game with Petro being possession of the ball as Curtis Terry taking a bold move for a lay-up at the buzzer that finally separates them and ASB Mazembe side and grand finale ticket against fellow Angolan and cup holder, Primeiro d’Agosto basketball club.

Terry poured in 24 points just as Mario Porters added 20 points with captain, Mingas napping a double double of 12 points and 11 rebounds while Fernando Albano contributed 10 points for their side hard earned victory.

Mazembe will battle host, APR Lions basketball club of Rwanda for the third place title before the final battle on Tuesday.

Vladmir Jeronimo proved to be a reliable player for defending champion of the FIBA Africa Champions Club for Men, Primeiro d’Agosto scoring 30 points to ensure victory for his side over host, APR Lions basketball club of Rwanda.

The defending champion who showed class against the host won the encounter by 98-84 points to secure a grand finale ticket slated for Tuesday at the sports hall of Amahoro stadium, Kigali, Rwanda.
Primeiro won the first three quarters by 26-18, 21-19 and 25-19 just as both sides end the last quarter in a tie with 26 points apiece.

Joining Jeronimo is reigning Africa most valuable player, Joaquim Gomes who recorded a double double effort of 18 points and 11 rebounds while Rodrigo Mascarenhas added 12 points and 8 rebounds.
APR dependable point guard Cedric Isom led his teammates with 26 points just as fellow point guard Mathew Miller added 23 points.

Primeiro will take on the winner of the second semi-final between Petro Atletico basketball club of Angola and ASB Mazembe basketball club of Democratic Republic of Congo in the final on Tuesday while APR will battle the loser of the second semis for the third place prize.

Cooperative Bank basketball club of Kenya was on Sunday confine to fight for position 7-8 by ASPAC basketball club of Benin Republic who defeated the Kenyan by 89-62 points.

ASPAC of Benin who were consider and outsider defeated the Kenyan in all four quarters by 26-18, 25-11, 17-15 and 21-18 with ASPAC combo-guard Mohammed Bukar leading the floor with 24 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steal while the duo of Leonne Chadare and Romaric Quenum added 21 and 18 points each

….. As Kano Pillars beat Interclub 85-65

In the other classification also decided Sunday, Kano Pillars basketball club of Nigeria defeated Interclub basketball club of Congo Brazzaville by 85-65 points to set-up 5-6 position battle against ASPAC basketball club of Benin Republic on Tuesday.

Pillars guard, Abubakar Usman led his team with 14 points and 7 rebounds, Williams Ndoumbe recorded 12 points, Kelvin Ninmul scored 10 points and grabbed 8 rebounds while Ibrahim Yusuf added 10 points to complete the beating of the Brazzaville-based side.

ASPAC guard and motivator, Nigeria-born Bukar who now leads other players in the final round of the 24th edition of FIBA Africa Champions Club for Men taking place at the sports hall of Amahoro stadium, Kigali, Rwanda with 154 points scored so far must be at his best to stop the Kano Pillars side from clinching the fifth place, a position it held since 2008 in Tunisia.

Warriors’ collated results
Primero 110-64 Warriors
Aspac 97-56 Warriors
Warriors 70-71 Co-op Bank
Inter Club 95-54 Warriors

Reading Kyambogo Warriors’ report card from the on-going Africa Club Basketball Championships in Kigali, Rwanda paints a worrying picture about the state of the game locally.

Warriors’ trip to Rwanda was one filled with lots despair as Ugandan champions lost all four games game to bow out of the prestigious tournament which attracted the best teams from across the African continent.
“The gap between us and the teams we faced is still huge so we have to invest more in coaches, referees and facilities,” Warriors’ patron Ambrose Tashobya told Sunday Monitor upon his return from Kigali on Friday.

Using the FIBA Zone V Africa Club event held in Kampala in July where Warriors reached the final, losing to Kenya’s Co-operative Bank, as a basis, Tashobya, also the local basketball head, praised the level of opposition his side encountered.
“There are champions all over the place so every game is hard. You have to multiply the levels of competition in the Zone V by two to get to kind of contests we got.
“Some teams like (champions) Angola’s Primero D’Agosito are run professionally. Players are well conditioned, have good physique and their shooting percentage is obscene. They can score 30 three-pointers,” Tashobya explained.
Nonetheless, he remained adamant that local basketball was in the right direction.
“There are two professionals already in Martin (Okwanko) and (Abdullahi) Ramadhani so we are on the right path,” Tashobya noted. Adding; “I cannot crucify players they achieved the club’s targets for the year in winning the league and qualification for a continental event. We have now tested how deep the waters are.”
With the tournament ending on December 22, Warriors, a wild card entrant, will stay in Kigali watching the final stages of the event.

BY OSTINE ARINAITWE

Fiba Africa club championship
Quarterfinals
Yesterday
Co-operative Bank 56-106 Petro Atletico
Mazembe 86-82 ASPAC
Inter club 80-99 APR
Classification games
Today
ASPAC vs Co-operative Bank 13:00pm
Kano Pillars vs Inter-club 15:00pm
Semi-finals
Mazembe vs Petro Atletico 17:00pm
APR vs Primeiro de Agosto 19:00pm

APR bounced back from defeat against Petro Atletico in dramatic fashion after beating Inter-club of Benin 99-80 in the quarter finals of the Fiba Africa Club Championship yesterday at Amahoro indoor stadium court.

The Indomitable Lions dominated in all quarters; 26-14, 24-19, 23-22, 26-24 with center forwards Isom Cedric and Mathew Miller grabbing 22 points and 18 points respectively.

APR now have a battle on their hands when they play defending champions Primeiro de Agosto of Angola this evening for a place in the final.

Coach Cliff Owuor was cautions of the impact of fatigue in such a high profile match, after resting most of his star players during the match against Inter-club.

He justified his decision saying, “I did not want any unnecessary injuries, because we had a comfortable win, and I also wanted my players to have enough rest before the Agosto match,” Owuor said.

Petro Atletico will play Congolese outfit Mazembe in the other semi-final match.

Meanwhile, before the semi-finals ties, there will be classification games to determine the rankings of the clubs.

ASPAC of Congo Brazzaville will play Co-operative Bank of Kenya, while Nigeria’s Kano Pillars will face Inter-club of Benin.

Premiero d’Agosto kept its invincibility run alive with a 94-74 points victory over Kano Pillars basketball club of Nigeria to land a semi-final ticket.

The exciting game one of the best played by the Nigerian and FIBA Africa Zone-III champion saw the defending champion winning three of the four quarters by 20-08, 28-20, 20-27 and 26-19 to set-up a semi-final battle against host APR Lions at 17h00.
Primeiro’s Mario Correia led his team with 17 points and 6 rebounds, Miguel Lutonda recorded 14 points, Carlos Almeida contributed 12 points just as the duo of Rodrigo Mascarenhas and Armando Costa added 11 and 10 points each with Joaquim Gomes grabbing 11 rebounds for the defending champion.

Kano Pillars points guard, Abubakar Usman led the floor with 21 points while the duo of Abdulrahman Mohammed and Anthony Koko added 11 points each.

Host of the 2009 edition of the final round of the FIBA Africa Champions Club for Men, APR Lions basketball club of Rwanda Saturday made it through to the semi-final with 99-80 points’ victory over Interclub basketball club of Congo Brazzaville.

The Kigali-based side subdue their opponent in all four quarters by 26-14, 24-19, 23-22 and 26-25 points to set up a semi-fnal confrontation against the winner of the last quarter-final game between Kano Pillars basketball club of Nigeria and defending champion, Primeiro d’Agosto basketball club of Angola at 17h00 Sunday.

APR Lions points guard, Cedric Isom led the floor with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, Robert Thomson contributed 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3 block-shot while the trio of Mathew Miller, Michael Bazangu and Karim Mkusi added 18, 14 and 10 points each to give their first ever semi-final birth for their side.

The quarter-final game between ASB Mazembe basketball club of Democratic Republic of Congo and ASPAC basketball club of Benin Republic was indeed a game to watch as both side treated the large crowd at the sports hall of the Amahoro stadium in Kigali, Rwanda to the best basketball display.

Though the Congolese side won the hard battle by 86-82 points of 27-14, 21-23, 19-17 and 19-28 it was ASPAC off-guard Mohammed Bukar who stole the show of the day with his beautiful run and scoring prowess.

The young lad accumulated 31 points and 9 rebounds to increase his points accumulation to 130 points from 5 games.

ASB Mazembe Kantu Kubala led his team with 25 points and 4 rebounds while his teammates Mbav Kabwit had a double double effort of 18 points and 12 rebounds with Aubin Kasongo adding 16 points and 6 rebounds to stop the ASPAC run in the final round of the 24th edition of the FIBA Africa Champions Club for Men.

With the win over ASPAC, Mazembe has thus set-up a semi-final duet against Petro Atletico basketball club of Angola on Sunday at 19h00 while ASPAC will continue its search for a comfortable placement with a classification game against Cooperative Bank basketball club of Kenya at 13h00 on Sunday.

Petro Atletico basketball club of Angola Saturday became the first team to make it to the last four of the 24th FIBA Africa Champions Club for Men holding at the sports hall of the Amahoro stadium, Kigali, Rwanda.

Petro who top group-A to set up the quarter-final clash against the Kenyan proved a hard side for the Kenyan winning in all four quarters of 31-10, 26-17, 29-09 and 24-20 for a final score-line of 106-56 points.
Petro Mario Porter led the floor with 19 points and 6 rebounds, Roberto Fortes 16 points and Hermenegildo Mbunga added 13 points for their side victory.
Petro will now square up against the winner of the quarter-final clash between ASB Mazembe basketball club of Democratic Republic of Congo and ASPAC basketball club of Benin Republic in the second semi-final billed for Sunday at 19h00.

BY OSTINE ARINAITWE

Fiba Africa club championship
Quarterfinals
Today
Petro Atletico vs Co-operative 13:00pm
Mazembe vs ASPAC 15:00pm
Inter-club vs APR 17:00pm
Kano Pillars vs Primeiro de Agosto 19:00pm

APR will be looking to navigate their way past Congo Brazzaville out fit Inter-Club when the two sides clash this afternoon in the quarter-finals of the Fiba Africa Club Championships at Amahoro indoor stadium court.

APR’s impressive run in the tournament was dented on Thursday after losing to 2006 champions, Petro Atletico of Angola, while their opponents have lost two of the four matches they have so far played.

Though APR coach Cliff Owuor thinks the tie won’t be as easy as most people are thinking, he is confident his Indomitable Lions will roar past the Brazzaville club.

“Every team that is participating in this tournament is a champion, so we cannot afford to underestimate this team.
“They are a good team, who boast of the top scorer in their ranks, but am confident we will defeat them,” the 32-year-old Kenyan trainer said yesterday.

Angolan duo of Petro Atletico and Primeiro de Agosto will go into their quarterfinal clashed with Co-operative Bank of Kenya and Kano Pillars of Nigeria respectively as favorites.
Benin’s ASPAC and DRC’s Mazembe meet in the other quarterfinal game.

In a bid to improve the quality of basketball in the central region, foster basketball development at the grass roots and improve the overall marketability of the sport of basketball, the Central Zone Basketball League has decided to involve the services of a sports marketing firm.

The decision was reached at the basketball governing body’s strategic planning meeting, headed by CEZOBAL chairman Jacob Chiloya that took place on Sunday November 16th at the luxurious Crossroads Hotel.

CEZOBAL decided to engage the services of local sports marketing firm, Milestone Sports Entertainment with the aim of building a better and more corporate image, create more avenues for fundraising and marketing and rebuild fan interest and player commitment in the sport of basketball in the Central region.

Milestone Sports Entertainment was represented by Harvey Somanje the company’s Managing Director who was flanked by his Business Development and Marketing Officer. CEZOBAL has already started working on improving basketball in Malawi and to this effect they have joined forces with Afrocentric Magazine to support Afrocentric’s “Show Some Love Give Some Blood Day” this Saturday November 22. This blood donation effort that has been created by Afrocentric Magazine in a bid to raise blood in Malawi’s local blood bank.

Next Weekend there will be a car wash and braai at one of the leading garages in Lilongwe. All Lilongwe basketball team captains will be there and a lot of beauty models. From this weekend onwards basketball players will be on the streets of Malawi to revive the game and revive support for the game. In recent months, the CEZOBAL league has been receiving financial support support from JDS technologies, Flakers Entertainment and most recently Zain Malawi Ltd.

CEZOBAL is now sending a message, loud and clear to those who thought that basketball had died a natural death. And it is this; “think again”. All the squabbles that have been rocking been the CEZOBAL leagues are being resolved and everyone is pulling together for the betterment of the game and we shout "welcome back basketball" …reads the statement in part.

A 1 million Kwacha budget has been drawn up by Milestone Sports Entertainment to revive basketball in Malawi. The source of the funds has been kept secret until the Basketball awards day to be held in Lilongwe at the Crossroads Hotel.

by Leonard Sharra

Central Zone Basketball League (Cezobal) at the weekend held a gala night at Cresta Crossroads Hotel, where the league awarded its best achievers for the 2009 season.

During the ceremony champions Mimbulu were honoured with a trophy and certificate of excellence after defending the league title for an eleventh consecutive year.
Runners up Courgas, who lost to Mimbulu in the deciding match at ABC earlier in the afternoon also got a certificate of recognition.
Ladies champions Dynamites were also awarded with a trophy and certificate of excellence after pipping Lady Clippers to the title. The Clippers got a certificate of recognition.
ABC's Lady Lions got the award for most improved team in the women league while Dynamites were named the most disciplined side.

Coming to individual awards, Memory Ngalande of Lady Clippers was named the most improved player while the upcoming player accolade went to Atuweni Samu of Natural Resources College.

In the men's league, Courgas' Limbani Yatina was named the upcoming player with Hope Msowoya winning the most improved player award.

The top individual award of Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the men's and ladies' leagues went to Mimbulu's Albert Simango and Dynamites' Linda Magombo Munthali respectively.

Gracing the occasion was deputy Youth Development and Sports Minister Billy Kaunda, who commended Cezobal for honouring its achievers.

“It is good to honour people for what they have achieved as this enhances excellency and encourages everyone to work hard.
“I also thank all the players for their commitment, which attributed to the success of the league,” said Kaunda, urging the league to put much emphasis on talent identification.

Cezobal's chairman Kingsley Gwaza said the league had plans to develop young players through the establishment of a juniors league, which he said would kick off in January.

He said the league would involve secondary schools from central region.

The chairman hailed government for harmosing the school calendar, saying the government move would help ease problems that were being faced by sports bodies in formulating their calendar of activities.