Basketball in Africa

Australia - Angola 70:60
Australia posted the third straight win at the Boris Stankovic Continental Cup in Kunshan City. They held off the African champions Angola to enter the Final game undefeated. The Boomers will face Turkey for the title. Angola will look for the initial win when they take on hosting China in the consolation final today.
Australia seemed en route to a cruising win as they opened the game with 9 points in a row. But a barrage of misses from the Aussies allowed Angola to get within one 12:13. Australia however closed the first frame with 7 points in a row to grab a 19:12 lead. The Boomers quickly jumped to a 10-point advantage in the second frame. Angola never surrendered and went on a 14:1 run to secure a 31:29 lead at halftime. The African powerhouse maintained the pressure and stretched the margin to 10 points early in the third stanza. Australia pulled together late in the stanza and cut the distance to two points with one quarter to go. Liam Rush (203-F/G-82, agency: Interperformances) put the Aussies in charge Luke Schenscher (216-C-82, agency: Priority Sports, college: Georgia Tech) and Damian Martin (186-G-84, college: Loyola Marymount) quickly extended the gap to 7 points and Australia rallied to the victory.
Liam Rush and Oscar Forman (205-G/F-82) finished with 12 points each for Australia. Stephen Wiegh added 7 points for the winners. Miguel Kiala (198-C-90) answered with 17 points for Angola. Roberto Fortes (193-G-84, college: Illinois St.) and Milton Barros (184-G-84) had 14 points each in defeat.

Australia: Liam Rush 12, Oscar Forman 12, Stephen Weigh (198-G/F-87) 7
Angola: Miguel Kiala 17, Roberto Fortes 14, Milton Barros 14

By CHARLES MUTEBI

Today: MTN-FUBA League
Men, division 1
KIU v KCC Lions
Division 2
Heaters v Bush Court
C. High v Berkley
Women
Stormers v Bucks

KIU coach Nimrod Kaboha will work with what he has when his team play KCC in the MTN-FUBA League today at YMCA.

Kaboha is grappling with a shortage of playing staff as some foreign members of the University team are yet to return from the break.

The list includes influential centre Michael Karuiki (Kenya), captain Henry Mwinika (Tanzania), forwards Dhol Aleu and Abraham Juma (Sudan).

As it is, KIU are in danger of missing the playoffs again and Kaboha is desperate for his team to go on a winning run but he insists he is willing to cut his coat accordingly.
He said: “I don’t want to speculate when they are coming back.
“I’m just going to work with what I have.”
Kaboha is also certain what he has will be enough to secure a much-needed victory over the Lions, who have won just one game all season.

KIU have not faired much better themselves, having won just three of their ten games.
“It (the game against KCC) will not be easy, but I’m confident that I will win it.”
But his counterpart Baker Mande is promising the same for his side.
Mande said: “I’m willing to bet that we beat KIU. If my boys play the same game they played against the Falcons, we will win.”

The result of the game in question was 81-58, in favour of the Falcons.

At the same time, Heaters will take on Bush Court while Crane High will battle Berkley in division two. Stormers face Lady Bucks in the women’s category.

Philip Onyango, Shimba Hills girls’ basketball head coach, is already dreaming of lifting the regional title next Saturday when the East Africa secondary school games come to an end here.

Onyango is so confident, considering his team’s pre-championship results. Shimba Hills, who are the national champions, has a bulk of former Mombasa High School players, who won the basketball title during last year’s edition in Kigali, Rwanda.
“We’ve had so many pre-championship matches as well as participating in numerous tournaments and I have confidence that we will be able to win this tournament,” said Onyango.
Coaching Mombasa High, Onyango had led the former coastal queens to an impressive sixth win in a row at these games and he says it will be the same script, but with a different cast.

Have new players

Shimba will be buoyed by their 59-21 and 58-26 wins they had against Changamwe Rollers and Strathmore University last week, as they face Langata High School, Don Bosco from Burundi and Uganda’s Chibuli School in their group stage matches.

With Don Bosco having two of their first five players in the national under-20 team, that’s the quandary that might make the Kenyans to toss and turn until Monday morning.
“We have new players as this is also a new side. Burundi as well as Nabisunza of Uganda have equally strong sides, but this is a better team than last year’s, in fact, I think it’s the best side we’ve ever assembled for these games,” said an emphatic Onyango.
Since he started winning the East Africa title in 2004, he has never known defeat and the coach doesn’t think it (defeat) will come this time round.
“It’s been great seeing our players work so hard and watching the fan support build. We must continue, as a nation, from where we left last year,” he said.

Changed its name

The coach said he will maintain the bulk of his side, who won the national title in Embu in April, but has a few form one students to gain experience from the games.Shimba Hills routed Tigoi of Western 114-54 in a girls’ final to ensure the trophy remained in Coast Province. Mombasa High who won it last year were not in Embu since their school changed its name to Khumbar.

It was captain Purity Adhiambo, who was Shimba’s pillar at the games and she’s beaming with confidence here in Fort Portal.
“We have a good team, mixed with experience and talent. We will play our heats out, and I’m sure in the end, the title will come back to Kenya,” said the form four student.

Shimba have had tremendous training sessions, especially with Oklahoma Baptist University women’s basketball coaches John Marcum and John McCullough.

Kenya is also represented in girls’ basketball by Tigoi and Langata High School. Mercy Wanyama, younger sister of Harambee Stars midfielder Mcdonald Mariga, is one of the leading players in the Langata side and she can’t wait to take on other teams. “This is one of the happiest moment in my life,” Wanyama said.
Making it to the East Africa games has always been my dream,” she said and I thank God that we have managed this feat,” said the 17-year-old forward.
“I’ve been admiring how my brothers, Victor Mugabe and Mariga, perform at the national team and it is my hope that one day I’ll also don the national colours in basketball,” said the form three student at Langata.

The Kenyan teams will find out by next Saturday evening if a shiny tournament appearance or a lump of coal awaits them in that package.

by Ismail Dhakaba Kigongo
Kampala

Today at YMCA
KIU v KCC Lions 5.30pm
Crane High v Berkeley 2.30pm
Ndejje v Miracle 5.30pm
Women
UCU L. Canons v Mak Cubs 4pm
Stormers v Lady Bucks 1pm

Even in defeat, KCC Lions showed glimpses of brilliance – especially in the first two quarters - against Falcons in their MTN-FUBA National Basketball League on Wednesday.

Falcons led by three (36-33) at the interval before cruising home (81-58) but KCC must surely be upbeat for their game against KIU at YMCA Court, Wandegeya this evening. KIU are seventh while KCC are ninth in the 10-team league.
However, Charles JJ and Alex Mugoya who stood out with nine points apiece, will not find it any easier playing against Orom Makmot– arguably the best player outside top three teams.
“We must win games during the second round because there is still a chance of making the play-offs and there is still a long way to go,” KIU coach Nimrod Kaboha said.

However, there are several hurdles for KIU to clinch fourth place which is currently occupied by Nkumba Marines with Ndejje University Angels and Miracle Eagles in fifth and sixth respectively.

In the women’s category, defending champions UCU Lady Canons face Makerere Cubs while debutants Magic Stormers clash with stuttering record winners Lady Bucks.

Boys final
Ssaku SS 52-51 Old Kampala
Girls final
Buddo SS 53-26 Mary Hill

Andrew Katushabe produced a star performance to help Ssaku SS clinch their second trophy in a year, at the 2009 Sprite Secondary Schools Basketball that ended in Lira yesterday.
Trailing Old Kampala 50-51 with five seconds to go, Andrew drew a foul and buried all the resultant shots to end the championship in style.
The thrilling final saw the youngster score a game high 16 points. Old Kampala’s Prema Lwanga was named the Most Valuable Player in the boys’ category and Ssaku’s Christine Mbabazi took the ladies’ gong. The Luwero school also won the National Schools Basketball Championships in Majjansi, Tororo in March this year.

Meanwhile, Buddo SS retained the girls’ trophy after beating Mary Hill High School 56-26 in the final. Buddo’s Stella Ayella scored a game high 22 points and team mate Christine Mbabazi added 18. Mary Hill’s Bridget Natukunda scored her school’s high of 18 points. The tournament was sponsored by Century Bottling Company.

by Ismail Dhakaba Kigongo
Kampala

Today
Men
Ndejje v Miracle 5.30pm
Power v UCU Canons 8.30pm
Results
Falcons 81-58 KCC
Stone 93-88 Heaters
Women
Amazon Rhino 25-98 A-1

Champions DMark Power, Kyambogo Warriors and Falcons appear to have cemented their places in the MTN-FUBA National Basketball League play-offs but the fourth spot is still very much up for grabs.

Two-time champions Nkumba Marines currently call the shorts but fifth-placed Ndejje University Angels and Miracle Eagles – in sixth – will give everything to snatch it when they clash this evening at YMCA Court, Wandegeya.
“These are the games you have got win to stand a (play-off) chance. We beat them in the first round and must repeat the feat,” Ndejje coach Walker Obedi said. Gerald Peter Bayo from Tanzania’s JKT and Yvez Nkuruzinza from Rwanda have joined Ndejje.

Unbeaten leaders Power - buoyed the return of coach Andrew Baziira who led them to the title last year - face Mukono-based UCU Canons in what promises to be a thriller and Power’s Isaac Afidra is taking nothing for granted. “We have a lot of respect for them. Our problems as a team were with the coach (Brian Wathum) but that is sorted and we are focused,” Afidra said.

In the women’s league, KIU Rangers will face KCC Leopards as the latter try to keep up with leaders A1 Challenge who maintained their perfect record with a 98-25 pummeling of Amazon Rhino on Wednesday night at YMCA.

Even without stars Olivia Mulwana, Mavita Ali and Elizabeth Kiza Baziira, Hatima Kassim sunk a game-high 20 points as Carol Mugasha and Charlene Karungi added 10 points apiece.

Falcons recovered from last week’s loss to Warriors and a few early jitters to defeat KCC Lions 81-58 infront of a a paltry crowd. Henry Malinga and Isaac Lugudde led the way with 18 points each. b

By CAXTON APOLLO

Two local men and women’s basketball teams will represent Kenya in this year’s Africa club championships.

Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) secretary-general Vitalis Gode said on Thursday that Co-operative Bank (men) and Kenya Ports Authority (women) have been registered by the continental body Fiba-Africa to represent Africa Zone Five in the two championships.

The men’s tournament will, for the first time, be held in Kigali, Rwanda, from December 4-13 and the women’s event in Benin from November 13-22.
Co-op Bank and KPA qualified after winning Zone Five elimination round matches in Kampala, Uganda, early this month. Co-op Bank beat hosts Warriors 53-47 in the men’s final as KPA bundled out Uganda’s Kampala City Council 67-45 in the women’s final. Other participants were Burundi, Tanzania and Rwanda.

KPA and Eagle Wings represented Kenya in last year’s club championship which was staged in Nairobi for the first time but failed to finish in the medal bracket.

Desportivo of Mozambique and Angola’s Primeiro Agosto retained the men’s and women’s titles in Nairobi and Tunis, Tunisia, respectively.

International Christian Centre at the weekend beat league champions Kenya Commercial Bank Lions 73-67 to jump from third place and dislodge them from the top of the table at the weekend. ICC now have 19 points from 11 outings, having won eight matches and lost three.

Lions are second on 18 from eight wins and two loses as Co-op Bank, who crashed 70-65 to underdogs Strathmore University, are third with 15 points (five wins and five loses). Strathmore climbed to fourth with 15 points.

BY BONNIE MUGABE

The senior women basketball national team has intensified it’s preparations at Amahoro indoor stadium ahead of the 2009 Fiba Africa Women Basketball Championship which will be played in the first half of September in Madagascar.

The team’s head coach Vaceslav Kavedzija, who has been taking the girls through rigorous drills for the last one week, always closes the day’s sessions with a sprint race on the Amahoro stadium track.

He says, the essence of the continuous sprints is to enhance the players’ endurance and perseverance.
Honore Ayebare, who emerged the Most Valuable Player at this year’s Fiba-Africa Zone V qualifiers held in Kigali early this year, was most active in yesterday’s drills.

Rwanda dislodged Kenya as the region’s female basketball queens when they beat them twice in the Zone 5 qualifiers that were staged in Kigali last month thanks in part to Ayebare’s outstanding performances throughout the entire championship.

Rwanda’s men’s team finished second to Egypt in the Zone 5 qualifier to qualify for the Fifa-Afrobasket Men’s Championship held last month in Tripoli, Libya where they ended in ninth position out of 16 teams.

Angola beat Ivory Coast in the final to take their record tenth African title. Both team also qualified for the Fiba World Championship scheduled for August 28 – September 12, 2010 in Turkey.

By CAXTON APOLLO

Champions Kenya Commercial Bank Lions and regional kings Co-operative Bank lost their crucial return leg matches as the battle for the first position in the basketball Premier League season intensified at the Nyayo Stadium at the weekend.

Last weekend’s fixtures were characterised with upsets which saw KCB Lions crash 73-67 to International Christain Centre in extra-time on Sunday.
Co-op Bank, who were recently crowned the Zone Five club champions in Uganda, were not spared either by Strathmore University, who shocked them 70-65.

Falling of the two giants was expected going by the outcome of their first leg fixtures against their improved opponents. Lions had to labour to defeat ICC 72-58 in the firstleg while Co-op Bank had squeezed a narrow 70-69 win over the now aggressive Strathmore University.

From the opening whistle

Crowd pullers ICC had defeated Co-op Bank 78-72 in the first leg and going down 95-73 in the return a week ago could stop them from embarrassing the league champions.
Coached by Fred Omondi, ICC got into business from the opening whistle and hit Lions 18-9 in just the first quarter.
Lions showed some effort to carry home the second quarter 22-14.With guard Griffins Ligare on fire ICC, went up 32-31 at half time and later locked the duel at 55-55 in regulation time.
ICC outscored the bankers 17-12 in extra-time to avenge their first leg defeat. Ligare scored 22 points, James Omune shot 14 for ICC, while Tobias Onyango worked hard to hit 24 points and team-mate Victor Odendo 12. Lions’ unbeaten run this year had been shattered by KPA, who had rocked them 77-69 in Nairobi.

Results: ICC 73 KCB Lions 67, KCA 54 Mennonites 44, World Hope 89 MMUST 89, Mennonites 85 Blazers 54, KCA 59 Parklands 43, Yana 33 Strathmore University 38, ICC 74 Lomboritz 65, Co-op Bank 65 Strathmore University 70.

Kampala City Council (KCC) have been given a wild card and will together with Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) will carry the Zone Five flag to the Africa club championships slated for Cotonu, Benin latter in the year.

Zone Five secretary general Vitalis Gode said that this development was good for the game in the region.

It will be KCC's second appearance to the tournament following similar move last year that saw the team take part in the event in Nairobi, Kenya in November.
KCC lost to KPA during the final played at the YMCA Wandegeya courts in the Ugandan capital on August 2.
A total of 19 teams took part in that tournament.
KCC are upbeat and have vowed that they will improve on their last placings during the Nairobi show.
"We are happy at this chance. We are going to give it our best shot and with the kind of improvements and exposure we have seen in the last months, we are sure to fly the Ugandan flag high in this championships." said a team official from Kampala.

KCC were place fourth in their first international assignment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during last year's qualifiers.
They broke camp after the event and had to re-assemble only a few weeks latter after Fiba Africa gave them a ticket to the final tour.
During the zone five tournament, the team, playing before their fans reached the finals where they battled seasoned KPA who only broke open this tie in the last five minutes of the game to win another of their crown. KPA crushed 39-64 to APR of Rwanda.
En route to the finals, KCC produced the shock of games when they shut our favourites APR 74-66 in a result that even their die hard supporters found hard to believe. That is how far KCC have gone. With proper preparations, they are convinced thay can do well.

If that is not enough message for all in Africa to take note of the sudden rise of the Leopards in the region, what is ? It has been gradual.
Now in players like Mirriam Hamalla, Akulo Becky, Birungi Marriam and Flavio Okech they believe its about time to unleash their their full claws.
KPA coach Anthony Ojukwu is up beat about his girls performance in the Benin platform. He hopes to beef up the squad before he gets underway his trainings.
Zone Five is looking forward to a solid performance from its two giants.
Gode said that zonal champions Co-operative Bank of Kenya will carry the country and zonal flag to the men's championships that will be played in Kigali, Rwanda on December 4-14.

Dann O'Werre
FIBA Africa

Nigeria team of the moment, First Deepwater basketball club of Lagos who is tasting full basketball action in the Nigeria women league for the first time seems to have shake off her Wednesday 71-57 points lose to First Bank basketball club of Lagos with an emphatic 94-44 points whitewashing of F.C.T Angels basketball club of Abuja in the first game of the Day-7 of the second phase of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) organised Zenith Bank Women Premier League.

The Lateef Erinfolamin and Shola Ogunade tutored First Deepwater side showed a great depth and understanding of the game winning in all four quarters by 23-14, 18-11, 27-08 and 26-11.

First Deepwater captain and former Nigeria international forward, Patricia Chukwuma led the floor with 20 points, 4 rebounds and two block-shots while former Dolphin basketball club forward, Julie Onyeluga added 19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists to complete the routing of the young F.C.T Angels side.

By: Olusegun Ikuesan
FIBA

Harbel Pointers have won the third division championship of the Liberia Basketball Federation league.

Harbel Pointers became champions after they defeated Heats in game four of their best out of five series.
They won the match with a narrow three point margin.
Harbel Pointers defeated Heats 67 to 64 clinch the championship.
Meanwhile, the LBF has called off playoffs matches scheduled for Friday at the Opened –Air Sports Commission.
Wiloria Patriots was expected to come face to face with Urban Invaders in the second division category.

The day’s final action was to see Defending first division champions NPA Deadly Pythons rubbing shoulders with Mighty Barrolle.
A win for Pythons would have seen them lift their second successive championship.

The Egyptian league should take place mid of October ends most probably in may. No changes in rules of regulations took place this season , 12 teams will face each other 2 times to anounce the best six to play for the championship, the other 6 teams will play to stay in the super league while tow teams will fall down. However, Intag Harby and Tanta are the new coming teams to the super league replacing Shams,Olympi . Finally, everyone expects a very hard competion between Itthad the defending champion and Gezira after the great deals done by both teams, On the other hand, Zamalek might not reach the best six after the great escape done by the best six players who signed for Gezira,Ahly, Shark insurance.......

After the great defeats the first national team had faced in Libya and got the 10th place some movments and rotations will happens in the comming days escpicially in the coaching, in another hand the egyptian super league clubs is now preparing for the league start within the coming months (October) , Itthad will fly to Lebanon and Syria to paricipate in two tournament to get his team in shape and to be ready for the league action

by James Ssekandi
Lira

Today
Boys semi-final
Ssaku SS v Eagles Nest
Old Kampala v Rock High

The curtains will be drawn today on the 2009 Sprite Secondary Schools in Lira with the semis and finals at the Aki Bua Stadium.
Eagles Nest take on Ssaku, a team that defeated them 64-56 in last year’s finals, while the other semifinal will see Old Kampala facing Tororo’s Rock High.

However, Eagles Nest Secondary School will need to raise their game especially in defence to oust a Ssaku side that seem to be in free scoring mood.

In the girls’ category, defending champs Buddo have an easier game against Kibuli girls who qualified despite not winning, while the other semi-final pits favourites Mary Hill against Lubiri.

Hard fighting First Deepwater basketball club of Lagos Wednesday taste the bitter pill of defeat going down by 71-57 points to defending champion, First Bank basketball club in the Day-six of the second phase of the Zenith Bank Women Premier League at the sports hall of the Asaba Township Stadium.

The Lateef Erinfolami tutored Oil & Gas ladies won the first quarter by 16-15 points tied the second quarter at 19 points apiece to take a one point lead into half-time of 35-34 points.
First Bank Nigeria international guard, Funmilayo Ojelabi inspired her teammate from the reality of being beaten in the third quarter which they won by 16-08 points to take a seven points lead into the last quarter which they also won by 21-14 points for a final scores of 71-57 points.
The dark-skin Ojelabi led the floor with 18 points and 5 rebounds while her fellow Elephant Girl, Bintu Badmos added 12 points to extend their side unbeaten record in the last ten years in the Nigeria domestic scene while First Deepwater duo, Magdalene Ukato and Patricia Chukwuma each scored 13 points, 4 rebounds and 11 points, 7 rebounds.

In the first decided earlier in the fixtures, AHIP Queens basketball club of Kano defeated depleted Nigeria Immigration basketball club by 58-46 points for a 2-4 record.

By: Olusegun Ikuesan
FIBA Afrique

BAYA stood chest to chest with Premium Cobras – the team they bumped around in a first-round 78-68 win – and although their mettle was tested this time, the defending champions stood firm.

Coach Michel Malbrook’s team won Sunday’s match, played at the Palais des Sports, on an Cobras’ captain Pillay shoots but Baya came out on top82-71 score to extend their win-run to 15 games, and with three matches left it will be interesting to see if someone can snap their winning sequence or if they will retain the men’s division one championship title with a perfect record of 18 victories.
“It’s a sweet victory,” coach Malbrook told Sports Nation at the end of the match, which was scrappy at times with a number of turnovers.
“It was a tense affair and both teams had good spells. But we were more organised. I’m happy my players responded to the challenge to beat one of the toughest opponents in the race for the title,” he said.

Coach Lenny ‘Bad’ Aglaé was unhappy with the loss, which has put an end to an 11-game winning streak and means the Cobras are almost out of the title race with 13 wins and four defeats.
After playmaker Giovanni Laval opened the scoring on a shot from downtown with 1 minute 34 seconds (1:34) gone, Baya lost the first quarter 21-24 but took control in the second, which they won 19-14 to go for the breather with a two-point – 40-38 – lead.
With their substitutes doing a fine job when called on to relieve the starters, outscoring their opponents’ bench 38-16, Baya distanced themselves from the once mighty Premium Cobras with a 24-15 third-quarter win.
Although they lost subs Timmy Adam (8:55 left with 10 points) and Nigel Annette (7:59 left with three 3-pointers) to five fouls, Baya tied Cobras 18-18 in the final 10-minute spell as the former champions watched in dismay as Nigerian Alao Solomon (7:43 left with 17 points), and Amadou Sylla (3:06 left with 7) fouled out in crunch time.
Baya netted 11 3-pointers compared to three for Cobras, whose starters outscored those of the champions 55-44.
Seychelles international guard Dave Roseline paced Baya with a game-high 21 points, while player of the year Jean-Paul ‘JP’ Camille, who did not play the usual high minutes, added 11.
Cobras’ captain and Seychelles’ power forward Dominic Pillay dominated the defensive board and finished with a team-leading 18 points although he shot poorly, and Steve ‘Speedy’ Servina came off the bench to pick up the slack with 14.

With only seven players for the match – one more than Angels – PLS Hawks won all four quarters 26-23, 28-22, 40-17 and 38-31 for a 132-85 victory to bring their win record to 12 in 13 games.
The Hawks had five players – Seychelles centre Rodney Lozé (38 points), veteran power forward Jim Domingue (30), Daniel Victor (28 including six treys), captain Bernard Bristol (14) and centre Barry Baron (10) – scoring in double digits.
Steven Servina netted a game-high 41 points and Barry Dubignon added 14, including three 3-pointers, for Angels who have now lost eight times in 15 outings.

Mont Fleuri Dawgz travelled to Praslin on Saturday and returned with an important 80-62 victory over Praslin Warriors to bring their points tally to 20 after six wins and eight defeats.
After their 14th loss in 15 games, the Warriors continue to carry the weight of the 10-team standings.

MBU Rockers got 28 points, including five treys from international swingman Cyril Agrippine and 12 from Brian Morel, in a 20-point margin – 85-65 – victory over RC Dynamics, who were paced by captain Jean-Paul Desaubin with 25.
MBU Rockers boast 12 wins in 16 games, while RC Dynamics have just five in 14 matches.

Meanwhile, in a women’s match, Mont Fleuri got 21 points from Bernadette Songor, 19 from Tracey Hétimier and 16 from Williana Dubois in a 74-25 win over Juniors, who got 10 from Veena Panagary.
While Juniors stay winless in seven games, Mont Fleuri have four wins and three losses.

In the men’s division two, Drifters defeated Pointe Larue Falcons 95-89 in extra-time after the match ended 81-81.

G. G.

by James Ssekandi
Wandegeya

Saturday Results - Men
Power 86-75 Knight Riders
Div11
Bush Courts 50-43 Livingstone
Berkley 66-64 MBC Rooks
TLC 46-36 Kings

Waiting for an instant reaction to a dud Zone V Club Championship, DMark Power returned to the MTN-FUBA league with a gracious 86-75 win over Knight Riders on Saturday at the YMCA courts in Wandegeya.

Power’s Isaac Afidra sparkled brightest with a game- high 35 points, on a day when the most of the big names on the team oozed real class. Norman Blick sunk 26, while Joseph Ikong was equally impressive with 12.

Power got into their groove quickly and deservedly took a 29-12 first quarter lead to assert their authority. There was however a lapse in Power’s concentration during the second quarter as Riders had reduced the deficit to just one point.

At this moment, Afidra got out of his shell and ensured any thoughts by the packed house of an upset were dashed away. He left the opposition mesmerised with big plays and free-shooting coupled with some easy layups and dunks as the champions got back on track and breezed to victory.

Steven Mtemihonda top scored for the Knight Riders, who have relegation staring at them with 23 points. Jimmy Enabu enjoyed an impressive game as an individual with 19 points whereas Colin Mukiza recorded nine. In the Division II two games, Bush Courts out-muscled Livingstone 50-43, Berkley edged MBC Rocks 66-64 and TLC defeated Kings 46-36.

Co-operative Bank of Kenya and Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) did the country proud by winning the Fiba Africa Zone Five club championships in Kampala, Uganda.

But now the hard part is just starting. Qualifying alone is not enough, the two teams must work extra hard to make a mark in the continental championships latter this year.

Kenya was represented by five teams and three of them got to the medal bracket during the games played in Kampala.This is a commendable feat by all standards.

Co-op Bank and KCB Lions (men) KPA (women) did well to be recognised while KPA men and Eagle Wings finished in the fourth spots in the men and women category respectively.
But it was not easily and they knew it. The record 19 teams -11 and 8 teams that paraded at the YMCA Wandegeya courts and Makerere University courts exhibited good quality basketball.

The Ugandans entered six teams and for the first time ever, managed to send two sides Kyambogo Warriors and Kampala City Council (KCC) Leopards to the finals.

There is no mincing words, Uganda teams did remarkably well giving a good account of themselves losing to eventual winners Co-op and KPA. Their crowd was superb.

The Rwandese APR and Marines, CSK just missed in but had some memorable results too, The Tanzanians ABC and JKT found out that they need to participate regularly at this level if they are to be at part with their rest in the region.

That is the stark reality they had to embrace in Kampala. One just hope that they learn from the experience.The only answer is to keep comin and taking part, the good results will follow.

"We are down not because we do not have players capable of performing at this level, but simply because we do not consistently take part in the Fiba Africa organised tournaments" noted one official.

That Co-op and KPA booked themselves a ticket to the Africa club championships latter in the year is welcome news. Whether they will be good enough for the championships is a story for another day.

Co-op will to Kigali, Rwanda for their first in over ten years while KPA will fly to Cotonu, Benin. Both clubs have been at that podium before.

KPA are regulars while Co-op will make a return after over ten year hiatus- they played in the old version of the event long before the current system of the final tour system has been introduced.

The biggest dissapointment in the tourney was the standard of officiating. The referees were not up to scratch, at times they made some bad decissions but the games went on with only one bad incident.

Eagle Wings walking out the third/fourth play off game against APR was in bad taste and their coach verbal tirade at the match commissar was not good for the game either.

Injustice was also seen during the KCB/KPA preliminary round game where forward Samuel Mogeshi was denied a chance to go to the line for two foul shots after the referee made a call and the buzzer sounded.

With KPA leading 72-71 Lions felt cheated. They believed it was their right to take the two shots. A similar incident happened a day latter and the shots we given ! such double standards.

KCB team manager George Odhiambo "Nyundo" ruled out a protest instead asking his agitated boys to take it easy only saying. "We will meet them again and we will beat them this time round." he predicted.

How sure, he was as the two Kenyan giants did meet again in a match that determined the third and fourth placed team in the event. KCB emerged 68-64 winners.

Dann O'Werre
FIBA Africa

The second phase of the 2009 Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF organised Zenith Bank Women Premier League dunks off at the Sports Hall of the Asaba Township Stadium, Delta State with three games in the opening day of the phase.

In the first game of the day Sunshine Angels basketball club of Akure over-power Plateau Rocks basketball club of Jos by 66-37 points
The win put the Akure-based side coached by Coach Andrew Isokpehi in a good stead for a good showing in the second phase of the league witnessed series of postponements due to various programmes put up by several bodies.

The second game of the opening day could not hold between Delta Force basketball club of Asaba and F.C.T Angels who could not make it to Asaba in good time, while Dolphins basketball club of Lagos defeated Nigeria Customs by 67-52 points.

The third game of the opening day between First Deepwater basketball club of Lagos and AHIP Queens basketball club of Kano became a one sided affairs as the First Deepwater girls coached by two former Nigeria internationals, Lateef Erinfolami and Shola Ogunade took the Kano side to the cleaner winning by as much as 52 points margin of 74-22 points.

First Bank basketball club of Lagos also had its opening day game against Nigeria Immigration basketball club of Kano moved to the free day next Monday due to the late arrival of the passport ladies who had difficulties in getting to Asaba on time.

Day-2 Games – Friday, August 21:

Five matches are on the bill in day two of the second phase of the NBBF/Zenith Bank Women Premier League.

In the first game Dolphins basketball club of Lagos will take to the floor against AHIP Queens basketball club of Kano at 08.00 hours with the Wale Aboderin girls looking to get even with the AHIP Queens who had the better of both sides in the first phase held in Kaduna last month.
First Deepwater basketball club will look to continue its good showing in her first year in the league when it battle Plateau Rocks of Jos at 10.00 hours while Nigeria Immigration of Kano engage host Delta Force of Asaba at Noon.
Nigeria Customs of Lagos will search for its first victory when it do battle against F.C.T Angels at 14.00 hours and the last game of Day-2 which is the biggest game of the day will see Sunshine Angels of Akure engaging defending champion, First Bank basketball club of Lagos at 16.00 hours.

Day-1 Results:
Plateau Rocks 37-66 Sunshine Angels
Dolphins 67-52 Customs
AHIP Queens 22-74 First Deepwater

Day-2 Games:
Dolphins Vs AHIP Queens
First Deepwater Vs Plateau Rocks
Immigration Vs Delta Force
Customs Vs F.C.T Angels
Sunshine Vs First Bank

By: Olusegun Ikuesan
FIBA Africa

by James Ssekandi
Kampala

Results
Falcons 73-74 Warriors
Miracle 88-80 KIU
Women
A-1 70-50 Mak Sparks
Today
Marines v UCU
Women
UCU v Nabisunsa

Regional Zone 5 championship runners-up Kyambogo Warriors showed nerves to beat arch-rivals Falcons 74-73 as the second round of the MTN-FUBA league resumed at YMCA, Wandegeya on Friday.

With two seconds to the end of the game, Falcons’ Carlos Ocici had a chance to win the game with two free throws after drawing a foul on Warriors’ Martin Okwako. But the 26- year-old missed both.

Trailing 61-56 going into the last quarter, Warriors seemed to have run out of gas but with Ramathan Abdulahi on court, the Tanzanian scored 5 unanswered points with 43seconds to go in the game.

Three-time regular season top scorer Stephen Okias sunk 15points; Ronnie Kasewu went about his business, scoring 10 points, Stephen Omony and Henry Malinga picked 13 points each for Falcons.

In the other games, Miracle Eagles defeated Kampala International University (KIU) 88-80 with Mohammed Ali picking 22 points and Boniface Okello sinking 15 points for the Lubaga-based side. In the women’s category, run-away leaders A-1 Challenge overran Makerere Sparks 70-50 with Hatima Kassim getting a game high 21points.

Meanwhile, Crown Beverages Limited through their Mountain Dew drink on Friday announced a Shs75m one-year sponsorship of Falcons Basketball Club.

A five-day summer basketball camp that gathers over 80 school-going children within the age of 10 and 17 got underway yesterday at the Independence Stadium, Bakau.

The camp, which will see the participants deliberate on the importance of sports and exercise in our everyday live, is organized by the Scholar Athlete for Change (SAC) – a non-governmental organization that was recently initiated by Gambia international basketballer, Pierre Jallow, with the ultimate aim of promoting sports, particularly basketball, among Gambian youngsters.

The organizers hired qualified basketball coaches that will give instructions during the camp. Pierre Jallow, the founder of SAC, said the camp is meant to teach the basic skills of basketball and also to reward youngsters who balance academic with sports. Jallow said his new organization has numerous projects in the pipeline, hinting that they must however start from somewhere.

Jallow, who currently plays professional basketball in Finland, counted himself lucky, having enjoyed a full scholarship which was a result of different academics and sports scholarship and he believes setting up such a project can create similar luck for his Gambian brothers to excel in whichever career they choose.

The public relations officer of SAC, Mr Andrew Dacosta, said the five-day training camp has finally kick-started – thanks to the assistance from their collaborators, including Young Men Christian Association (YMCA) who donated over 100 T-shirts to be used by the campers.
Author: Nanama Keita

The Wallidan basketball team that went to participate in a basketball tournament in Senegal last week returned home victorious after winning the coveted trophy.

The tournament, which was played in a league format, gathered six basketball teams from Thies, Kaolack, Mbour, St. Louis, Louga and visitors Wallidan. The Wallidan side, who had their final match aborted due to downpour of rain, were confirmed the champions having prevailed in their first four matches.

Wallidan team captain, Hassan Jassey, told Observer Sports that his players did an exceptional job, adding that he was very impressed with what they displayed in Senegal. Delighted by what he saw in Senegal, Jassey said he would like his club to stage similar tournament in Banjul in a bid to revive basketball. The team, which returned to Banjul over the weekend, was under the tutelage of Ousman Turu Conateh.

by James Ssekandi
Kampala

Today
DMark Power v Riders 7:30pm
Women
KIU v Amazon Rhino 6pm
Lady Bucks v MUK Cubs 3pm

After a disappointing campaign in the regional Zone V championship, DMark Power will be all out to prove they are still a strong side when they face Knight Riders as the MTN-FUBA League return today at YMCA.
“I think we were not fully prepared for the Zone 5 tournament, but we are ready for the league,” the league’s MVP Ben Komakech said.
Two other games will be on card at the YMCA courts.

BY JULIUS MBARAGA

FERWABA is not prepared to make the same mistake twice. The local basketball federation is already working round the clock to make sure that the national women basketball team puts up a much better display in the upcoming Fiba Africa Women championship.

The event, which also counts as Africa’s premier women basketball competition is slated for October 9-18 in Madagascar.
To start with, the team’s head coach Kavedzija Vaceslav has summoned 13 players to start non-residential training at Amahoro’s indoor stadium.
The pre-selected squad is expected to be beefed up by four foreign-based players.
“He (Vaceslav) will start with 13 players but we expect four more to join the squad in one or two weeks,” the Ferwaba president Eric Kalisa Salongo revealed.

Ferwaba learnt a pricey lesson in the just ended Libya 2009 Afrobasket when the team struggled because of inadequate preparations.
“We don’t want to make the same mistake twice. Just like the national men’s team, we have a good women team but we need to prepare them well if we want them to fire in Madagascar,” another Ferwaba official added.

Rwanda is one of twelve teams vying for the title. Some of the others include defending champions Mali, nine-time record champions Senegal, Angola, Mozambique, Cameroon, South Africa and hosts Madagascar among others.

Storm Director of Communications and Community Relations Teresa Wippel explains how the Storm connected with the Peace Corps to help out a budding group of female basketball players in the country of Niger.

The letter came to Storm headquarters from Peace Corps volunteer and Oregon native Mariah Cosand: Would the Storm be willing to donate basketballs and practice uniforms or T-shirts to two dozen young women between the ages of 15-24 playing basketball in the town of Maradi, in the West African nation of Niger?

Cosand explained that she was assisting a Peace Corps employee named Ado, who had established a high school girls’ basketball team in Maradi. “Niger is a predominately Muslim country and due to the religious and cultural norms that currently exist in this part of the world, as well as the extreme poverty, girls’ sports are virtually nonexistent,” Cosand wrote. “These girls practice every day after school and raise money to travel every few months to one of the handful of other cities in Niger that also have girls’ basketball teams.”

The Storm put together two large boxes of clothing and basketballs, and sent it to Niger earlier this year. Since Cosand had just ended her Peace Corps service, the project was taken over by another volunteer – Sarah Turner of Kansas City, Mo. A former high school basketball player and an avid WNBA fan, Turner used the Storm donations for a basketball camp that the older players ran for younger girls in Maradi.

“The girls that came were a bit younger (13,14,15) and had never played before, so we did a lot of basic shooting, dribbling, and passing drills,” said Turner, whose volunteer service when she is not coaching basketball focuses on animal husbandry, including work with women’s groups who buy and sell animals as an income-generating activity. “The older girls taught and ran the drills. They spoke to the girls about the importance of continuing education beyond high school and what they expected their role to be as an educated female in the society of a city. They also talked about AIDS prevention.”

The older players have “the skill level of an average high school team,” Turner said. They have finished high school and are in professional school, studying to be nurses and teachers, plus one who is taking the police exam.

“As female Peace Corps volunteers from a country that has an entirely different view of women, we sometimes find that ways to connect with women here are hard to find as our life experiences and expectations are very different,” Turner noted. “I was not expecting, for that reason, for a way to connect with them to occur via sports, but the fact that it happened speaks to worldwide presence and importance of sports for women.

“Women who play basketball in Maradi all see the benefits of the opportunity and have parents who support them,” Turner continued. “They have seen mostly games on television, whether live or taped, and really enjoy them. The only indoor gym, like the ones they see on television, is in the capital city of Niamey and so they always hope to play there rather than on our outdoor court in Maradi.

“Twice a year, there is a country-wide tournament in Niamey that draws about six girls’ teams,” Turner said. “The championship game is played in that indoor area so that is something that they play hard to achieve, besides wanting to get bragging rights.”

“During the past week, we have been trying to teach the girls about the role of sports in women’s lives,” she added. “It is not really applicable to talk to them about considering sports as a career option because they are no professional sports for women here. We can teach and remind them, however, about the physical and mental health benefits as well as the life skills that can be learned and honed such as cooperation, sportsmanship, leadership and self-confidence.”

Turner concluded: “We thank you, Seattle Storm, for your contribution to our young girls of Maradi and for your cooperation with Peace Corps. “We appreciate it very much and good luck in your upcoming season!!”

BY JULIUS MBARAGA

TEAMS went into the 2009 Afrobasket championship in Libya knowing that there was a lot to play for. The competition also doubled as the road to Turkey because the top three teams in Libya would qualify for the 2010 Fiba-World Championship in Turkey.

At the end of the grueling ten-days, it was Angola, Ivory Coast and Tunisia, who claimed these slots.

Angola, like many had anticipated, won a record tenth title to further assert their status as Africa’s basketball kings.
The Southern African giants led by tournament MVP Joaquim Gomes beat Ivory Coast 82-72 in the final to race to their sixth title on the trot.
It was sheer brilliancy by the Angolans since they also finished their nine-game campaign without losing a game.

Tunisia also snatched that final World Championship slot after ousting Cameroon 83-68 in the third place playoff.
Rwanda were not in that class but going by the national team coach (Kavedzija Vaceslav)’s recent remarks, Rwanda’s display at the championship is a good foundation for the 2011event which is likely to be hosted by Morocco.

Rwanda finished 9th in the sixteen-nation tournament, climbing three slots from their 2007 performance in Angola.

The team flew to Libya with a mission of getting to the quarter-finals and although the team came one position short of their target, resounding wins over Africa’s top nations like Cameroon, Senegal, Egypt and Cape Verde proved how lethal Vaceslav’s team can be.

In the group stages, Rwanda picked one win and lost two games. The win came against 2007 second runners up Cape Verde (77-67) while defeats were against the Arab nations of Morocco (84-85) and Tunisia (57-74).

In all fairness, Rwanda deserved to win the Morocco game but switched off a little too early.
The team regrouped fast to see off Cape Verde but were soon criticized for failing to build on that win after going down to Tunisia.

Rwanda headed into the Tunisia tie as slight favourites on two counts; going into the match on the back of a Cape Verde win and knowing that the Tunisians had been trounced by Cape Verde (52-71).

However, Tunisia had other ideas as they trounced Rwanda 74-57 to finish top of the group (D).

The team progressed into the round of eight where they were drawn with heavy weights Senegal, Central African Republic (CAR) and Cameroon.
At this point, even hanging onto their 2007 position (12th) seemed very unlikely. Only Vaceslav knew what his guns were capable of.

Rwanda’s 72-59 win over Senegal dominated headlines in Tripoli. It was the first major upset of the tournament. But similar to the group stage, the team buckled under the spot light losing 64-85 against CAR.

The team again came under criticism for failing to build on their wins. In fact, many predicted that Rwanda would be easily-beaten by Cameroon, but to their dismay, it was upset number two for the East African team.

The burgeoning partnership between Kenny Gasana and Robert Thomson tore Cameroon apart 82-69 to signal their intentions at the event.
At this point, Rwanda had turned themselves into giant destroyers.
Despite these wins, Rwanda still missed out on the quarter-finals by just a margin of an inch but made the most of their classification games by beating hosts Libya (80-77) and long-time Zone 5 nemesis Egypt (78-75).

Putting these results together, it was clear that the team started playing well towards the end of the tournament partly because they had finally forged a combination.

The players hardly played together before the tournament and used the opening games trying to gel as a team.

In his post-tournament remarks, Kenny Gasana, Rwanda’s top scorer and fifth at the tournament with an average of18.3pts per game reckoned that with good and adequate preparations, the team has the potential to make the semi-finals and probably snick into the top three.
The camaraderie and willingness in the team has convinced Vaceslav that Rwanda will be a force to reckon with come 2011.
“All the team needs is good and early preparations to challenge the usual big guns in the competition.
But on a whole, I’m proud of the lads. They played well,” the Croat said.
With only one sound friendly game (against Turkey) before the 2009 Afrobasket event, Rwanda’s performance in Libya was a commendable effort.

by James Ssekandi
Kampala

Today
Men
Miracle v KIU 5.30pm
Warriors v Falcons 8pm
Women
Sparks v A-1 Challenge 7pm

It’s hoops time once again as the MTN-FUBA National Basketball League second round gets underway this afternoon with three games on card.
Following a three-week break that paved way for the Zone V championships, round two resumes with all teams eager to make it to the play-off. The biggest game on card will feature Zone V runners-up Kyambogo Warriors against Falcons.

After their exploits in Zone V, Warriors’ coach Gad Eteu is challenging his troops to make a statement of intent and go a notch better by lifting this year’s league title. “As a group we know everyone will want to beat us but with the maturity and belief these lads have the league title is not out of reach,” said Eteu.

Having edged Falcons (70-67) in the first round, Eteu knows too well how the wounded record champions will respond. “Falcons will be out for revenge because of the two first round losses. It’s a group of experienced and technically aware players and I know they want to prove a point,” Eteu noted. With only Brian Gumisiriza missing, Warriors will be boosted by the return of forward Nelson Wafula, who missed round one.

On the other hand, Falcons welcome back former MVP Sam Obol and star point guard Francis Tumusiime. The pair will add the much needed experience and depth. Miracle will battle KIU in the other men’s game on card.

In the ladies categor,y runaway leaders A-1 Challenge resume their campaign against Makerere Sparks hoping to extend their 10-game winning streak.

The US embassy has vowed to work closely with the Tanzania Basketball Federation and Dar es Salaam Basketball (BD).

According to the statement released by the embassy, the US would embark on unearthing talents from the grassroots.
The move has come following strengthened ties between the United States of America and Tanzania through Hasheem Thabeet.
The remarks were made at the embassy by charge d'Affaires Larry Andr� during a Thabeet's 'welcome home ceremony.'

The Memphis Grizzlies' shot blocker returned home last week, the first time since signing for the NBA team.
He said Thabeet's success in basketball has meant that more young Tanzanians are now interested in playing basketball.
"To encourage this, the US will support the basketball federation and BD to further promote the sport," he said.
The official underscored: "Thabeet has now become a better sports ambassador between the US and Tanzania."
The US has been endeavoring to promote basketball in the country and so far, several plans have been executed.
Last September, the US in collaboration with dedicated local partners brought to Tanzania the American Olympic gold medalist in women�s basketball, Jennifer Azzi.
They also invited Matt Bonner, a forward for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.
The players conducted basketball clinics for local basketball players, coaches and secondary school students.

BD's president Simon Msoffe appealed to the two countries to keep up good ties, which might benefit the local players.

The just ended Dynasty Basketball Summer Camp 2009 at Lincoln community school (LCS) was a success. The summer camp run from the 27th July to the 31st of July . The camp had a total of 50 young basketball players signing up both girls and boys between the ages of 12years and 20years. Dynasty Basketball Association brought together both young and senior coaches who coached through out the five day camp. Amongst the senior coaches was Ghanas senior national team coach Perigrino Lawal Brimah who currently is the senior coach of the No.1 club team in Ghana Ceps Braves. Also present were Dynastys own group of coaches Isaac Kwapong Jnr, Feranmi Olunloyo, and David Agyeman. Other coaches included Francis Brooks (Snr. Coach St Theresas Junior High), Albert Donkor (Coach Lincoln Community School), Priscilla Tandoh (Coach Legon Community Team). The camp was run by the Dynasty Staff together with the help of volunteers of different age groups and experiences which included Yaw Danso (Asst. Athletic Director Lincoln Community School), Elvis Davordzi (Sports Administrator National Sports Council), and some senior high school graduates.
The camp schedule started at 9:00am on Monday the 27th of July 2009 with the arrival of both residential and non-residential campers who are now today in the history books of the Dynasty as the first group of young players to attend the Dynasty Basketball Summer Camp. The camp schedule for each day was the same starting at as early as 5:00am for residential campers and 9:00am for non-residential campers. Nevertheless new activities were introduced as the camp drew to its final day. The daily camp schedule for the first three days included Jogging, fitness training, fundamental skills training, lunch break, video session, guest speaker, daily trivia session, and daily scrimmages. The fourth day saw the inclusion of the Dynasty skills Challenge and the last day was dedicated to the Summer Camp Tournament. Players were put into four teams which they represented through in the various team activities through out the camp.
The highlight moments of this years camp included Wednesdays guest speakers session with Tara Nkrumah (Athletic Director Lincoln Community School) who talked about Education & Sports. She educated campers on Goal Setting, Steps to setting goals, 10 qualities you find in a good student athlete, and 5 characteristics of a successful student. The guest speaker session also included an activity time which gave all 50 campers the opportunity to think about their future and answer certain questions which helped them to discover themselves in their pursuit for success as student athletes. Another highlighting moment was the Dynasty Skills Challenge which took place on the fourth day of the camp. The Dynasty Skills Challenge was a model of the NBA All-Star Skills challenge but this time focused more on how players executed the various fundamental skills taught through out the camp. The challenge included dribbling, passing, defense, shooting and layups. All four teams which consisted of Team Dynasty, Team Hoops, Team Tigers, and Team Sharks selected a player who represented them with the help of other team mates who assisted at all the various skill points. At the end of the skills challenge Team Dynasty emerged winners with the total highest points for both U16 and U20 skills challenge. The camp was climaxed with the Dynasty Basketball Summer Camp Tournament on the final day of the camp. All campers represented their team in a round robin tournament through out the day. The tournament was in two age categories U16 & U20. The tournament was an opportunity for the young campers to display their basketball talents and for parents and guardians to see what their kids had learnt through out the camp. The U16 played in a 3on3 tournament whiles the U20 played in a 5on5 tournament. Team Dynasty emerged winners of the U16 tournament whiles the U20 tournament saw Team Tigers emerge as winners. Individual awards were given to outstanding campers they included Most Improved Player, Most Defensive Player, and Most Valuable Player all in U16 and U20 category. The U16 awards went to Carol Oduro (Most Improved Player), Samuel Sarfo Antwi (Most Defensive Player), and Nana Peprah Boakye (Most Valuable Player). In the U20 category Baah Sekyere-Agyekum won the Most Improved Player, whiles Rosby Kome-Mensah Jnr won the Most Defensive Player, and James Larbi winning the Most Valuable Player. The overall winning team for the camp which included points tabulated through out the five days in trivia quizzes, Dynasty Skills Challenge and the tournament was Team Dynasty.
The camp ended with the awarding of individual prizes by the founder & Director of Dynasty Basketball Association Isaac Robert Kwapong Jnr who also was the Director of the summer camp. After the awards presentation he acknowledged all groups and companys who supported in the organization of the 1st Dynasty Basketball Summer Camp. Partners & Sponsors for the summer camp included Right to Dream, Cosmic Volunteers, All Iowa Attack USA, Ace Technologies, MyGHOnline.com, Skyy Digital Television, Final Effects and Concept 360. The 2010 Dynasty Basketball Summer Camp planning has already started so if you missed out on this years camp then you better not miss out on the 2010 camp. Now available for sale is the Dynasty Basketball Summer Camp DVD call 0243645929 or email info@dynastyhoops.com to relive the history making camp in your living room. To sponsor or support Dynasty Basketball Basketball Camps & Clinics call 0243645929/0243514048 or email info@dynastyhoops.com.

Best Player: Joaquim Gomes (200-C/F-80) of Angola
Best Guard: Pape-Philippe Amagou (185-G-85) of Ivory Coast
Best Forward: Romain Sato (194-G/F-81) of Central Africa
Best Center: Joaquim Gomes (200-C/F-80) of Angola * played at bioth center and power forward positions
Best Coach: Luis Magalhaes of Angola

1st Team
G: Pape-Philippe Amagou (185-G-85) of Ivory Coast
G/F: Romain Sato (194-G/F-81) of Central Africa
G/F: Amine Rzig (199-G/F-80) of Tunisia
F/C: Joaquim Gomes (200-C/F-80) of Angola
C: De Sagana Diop (213-C-83) of Senegal

2nd Team
G: Carlos Morais (190-G-85) of Angola
PG: Jeff Xavier (185-G-85) of Cape Verde
F: Eduardo Mingas (200-F-79) of Angola
F/C: Hesham Salem (206-F/C-81) of Libya
C: Boniface Ndong (213-C-77) of Senegal

3rd Team * 6 players selected
G: Armando Costa (192-G-83) of Angola
G: Babacar Cisse (189-G-76) of Senegal
SG: Michael Efevberha (196-G-84) of Nigeria
F: Gaston Essengue (203-F-83) of Cameroon
PF: Mouhammad Faye (206-F-85) of Senegal
C: Robert Thomson (208-C-82) of Rwanda

Honorable Mention
Mouloukou Diabate (180-G-87) of Ivory Coast
Mohamed Kone (211-C-81) of Ivory Coast
Marouana Kechrid (180-G-81) of Tunisia
Waly Coulibaly (193-G/F-88) of Mali
Gabe Muoneke (200-F-78) of Nigeria
Joachim Ekanga Ehawa (188-G-77) of Cameroon
Mohamad Hachad (194-G-83) of Morocco
Jean Koumba (83) of Congo
Kenny Gasana (84) of Rwanda
Amara Sy (202-F-81) of Mali

PREMIUM COBRAS played a tough and suffocating defence against bottom team Beau Vallon Heat to stay in a rich vein of results with their seventh win in the second round of the men’s division one championship.

On a cold and windy Sunday afternoon at Victoria Gymnasium, the Cobras warmed themselves up for an important encounter this coming Sunday against defending champions Baya, thanks to a 117-66 win over the Heat, who enjoyed some good spells in the match despite the loss.

Coach Lenny ‘Bad’ Aglaé insisted on defence to win more possession, which they turned into baskets, outscoring their opponents 23-16, 34-10, 29-18 and 31-22 in all four quarters.

Cobras’ Nigerian import Solomon finished with a game-leading 35 pointsNigerian Alao Solomon finished with a game-leading 35 points and was helped in offence by Seychelles power forward and captain Dominic Pillay with 23, Amadou Sylla with 22 and Nigerian Simon Pusam with 12.

Heat’s Tony ‘General’ Barbé and Pascal Bibi scored 24 and 19 apiece for 43 of their team’s total.

With their 13th win in 16 games, former champs Cobras have shot to the top of the 10-team league standings with 29 points – one more than unbeaten Baya, who have two games in hand.

Although coach Valli Ismaël kept barking instructions from the sidelines, the Heat fell to their 13th defeat in 15 games and are just two points ahead of tailenders Praslin Warriors.

In the day’s other men’s top flight match, Angels started strongly against MBU Rockers, keeping them in check early on to trail by two – 12-14 – at the end of the first quarter, but they let down their guard in the second to be outscored 24-16.

Boasting a 10-point lead, the Rockers played a cat-and-mouse game with their opponents, who tried to upset them, winning the second period of 20 minutes 39-38, which proved enough for a 77-66 victory.

Swingman Cyril Agrippine scored a team-leading 22 points, while young centre Keven Morel added 14 and captain Nigel Sinon scored 12 in the Rockers’ victory number 11 in 15 games for 26 points.

Despite getting a game-high 25 points, Steven Servina – who also top-scored for Angels with 39 points in their previous weekend’s 95-93 away victory over Praslin Warriors – could not stop the Anse Boileau-based team from losing for the seventh time in 14 matches.

In the women’s league, Mont Fleuri are almost out of the running for the title as they could not repeat the performance that earned them a surprise 56-48 win against champions HotShots.

Playmaker Lindy Mathiot scored 17 points, including two 3-pointers, Dynah Louis added 16 and centre Simone Malbrook got 10 in Anse Etoile Stars’ 71-50 victory against coach Tony Juliette’s Mont Fleuri.

Mathiot (dribbling) scored 17 points in Stars’ win over Mont Fleuri

Coached by Michel Malbrook, the Stars boast 13 points after six wins in seven matches, while the Mont Fleurians have an equal win-lose record of 3-3 in six games for nine points.

With Mialy Rakotoarison scoring a game-high 18 points and veteran Lina Lestrange adding 12 in a 56-30 victory against winless Juniors, RA Sisters moved equal on points – nine – with Mont Fleuri, but have played a match more.

Coach Jerry Andrew’s Juniors were paced by Doris Oreddy and Yana Malbrook with 11 points apiece. Coming from a basketball family Yana – whose mother Simone is a Seychelles international and plays for the Stars, father Michel was a former international playmaker and is now a coach, and brother Stephen plays for Baya – banked three 3-pointers for nine of her 11 points.

G. G.

By Brown Msyani

Midway and Ahmes schools got off their Dar es Salaam School Basketball League (SBL) campaigns on a high note after defeating Kigamboni and Shaaban Roberts respectively.

Newcomers Midway taught hapless Kigamboni a basketball lesson when they demolished them by 60-14points while Ahmes had to apply extra intelligence to overcome spirited Shaaban Roberts 30-20.

Playing at the National Indoor Stadium, Ahmes terrorised their opponents regularly and until the end of the second half, they had an unassailable 20-6 lead.

Shaaban Roberts pressed hard to match their rivals' brilliance, but their efforts did not pay off instead Ahmes continued to score crucial points.Three-point expert Solomon Manase of Ahmes emerged the match's top scorer after posting 12 points, all garnered from four three-point shots.
"Our defence was outstanding in the second half and we're happy to have defeated them. We were shaky in the first half, but we managed to regain our poise," Manase said.Ahmes relied on prolific playmaker Musa Chacha who engineered most of their dangerous attacks.

Midway, who are participating for the first time, eased past Kigamboni in the one-sided encounter held at the same venue.Boasting of a formidable squad, the winners completed the first half with a commanding 32-4 lead.

Nasoro Haji, who was a constant threat to Kigamboni, emerged the game�s top scorer after chalking up 14 points followed by Kigamboni�s Shaaban Mohamed who managed six points.

The league continues today at JKT Mgulani where six matches will be played.

by James Ssekandi
Wandegeya

Results - All Star Weekend
Men: Western 104-102 Eastern
Ladies: Green 57-53 Black
Lower Division Stars
Green 84-57 Black
Uspa 16-18 FUBA Officials

If there were still any lingering doubts of Stephen Omwony’s potential, the Falcons Shooting guard silenced his critics with a dazzling display during which he nailed 30 points to help Western Conference edge Eastern 104-102 infront of a packed crowd at YMCA courts in Wandegeya in the 9th FUBA All-Star Game on Sunday night.

West were trailing 57-46 at the breather but Omwony’s big match temperament came to the fore and together with Tanzanian Ramathan Abdulahi and Henry Malinga saw off East’s threat.
In the All-Star ladies game, Miriam Hamala topped scored with 17 points as Team Green edged Team Black 57-53.

BY OSTINE ARINAITWE

Friday’s result
Electrogaz 71-59 Minadef

Electrogaz started the national corporate league with a bang after thrashing the ministry of defense by 71-59 in basketball at Amahoro stadium indoor courts.

Electrogaz displayed their superiority by leading in all four quarters of the game and the duo of Deo Karemera and Caisus Murindabigwi were on fire grabbing over 42 points between themselves.

Although the ministry of defense players were taller and physically bigger than Electrogaz counterparts, their lack of sharpness was exposed by the Electrogaz players, who were very quick and had good movement with the ball.

Eleven teams will take part in this year’s corporate league and they are: Electrogaz, Minadef, BCR, Access Bank, BK, RAMA, RRA, KIE, Instersec, Minispoc and Caisse Sociale. The teams will be competing in three disciplines of football, volleyball and basketball.

The football matches will be taking place at Ferwafa artificial turf, starting this weekend, while Volleyball and Basketball will be played on Tuesdays, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, at Amahoro stadium, Circle Sportif and Caisse Sociale playground.

By FP Reporter

Five players and alternate two were picked at the weekend to attend the Basketball Without Borders (BWB) camp in South Africa next month.

Bruce Ndikumana (Laiser Hill), Tyler Okari (Friends Kamusinga), Joseph Ouma (Shimo-la-Tewa), James Mathiang (Nairobi International) and Samuel Odera (Maseno) were selected from a pool of 35 players drawn from across the country.

The three-week Sprite Slam Basketball Talent Search tournament ended on Saturday after intensive two-day finals at the Railways Club, Nairobi. The alternate players are Bol Albino (Laiser Hill) and Mwalimu Kijogoo Heri (Shimba Hills).
The selection was overseen by National Basketball Association (NBA) star, Juwan Antonio Howard, who plays for Charlotte Bobcats and is a former All-Star and All-NBA power forward in liaison with Kenya Basketball Federation coaches.
The players were taken through rigorous training and played a number of games against each other.

Howard noted he was impressed with the selected players as well as those that didn’t make it. "Kenya is definitely rich in talent. I had an opportunity to see the kids take on each other and I think they can go head to head with anyone in the world. Sprite Slam is definitely raising their game," he said.

Among others

The five will be joined at the BWB camp by 100 others selected from, among others, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Cameroon and Angola. The South Africa camp will run from September 1 to 7, conducted by a number of NBA players, coaches and managers.

The Sprite Slam Basketball tournament that started three weeks ago is sponsored by Coca-Cola East and Central Africa to the tune of Sh40 million. The company is investing the funds in the discovery of youth talent as well as refurbishing 50 basketball courts. Coca-Cola is collaborating with Miles and Associates International to manage the tournament.

by James Ssekandi
Kampala

The 2009 Zone V regional women’s basketball runners-up, KCC Leopards have reason to smile after landing one of the wild-card slots for the FIBA African Ladies Championship in Benin.

Bob Buga, the Vice President Federation of Uganda Basketball Association (FUBA) confirmed to the Daily Monitor the latest development in relation to KCC’s invite for the Africa Women Club Championship showpiece in October.
“As FUBA we can proudly say that we are grateful, it shows that there has been some solid improvement which is being recognised even on the continent. So we expect FIBA to write to KCC on guidelines and requirements about the tournament,” said Buga.

Zone V tournament might have had the atmosphere of a major championship but it was also the regional qualifier for Africa’s club showpiece, with only winners Kenya’s Cooperative Bank and KPA being guaranteed of qualification.
Leopards benefited from a similar arrangement last year when they received a last minute invitation for the women’s continental tournament in Kenya.
“We are very happy about this invitation, but winning the league would be the ideal preparation ahead of the African event” said KCC’s manager Joy Olinga.
FUBA is also is still hopeful that men’s team Kyambogo Warriors who finished second in Zone 5 event will get a wildcard for the men’s championship due December in Rwanda.“So many things could change as some teams could pull-out,” Buga said.

Meanwhile, Century Bottling Company under their Sprite brand has injected Shs9million in the All-Star-game on Sunday at YMCA.

by James Ssekandi
Kampala

All Star game
At YMCA, 10am
Shs 5,000 (VIPs)
Shs 3,000 (Standard)
Shs 1,000 (Students, players)

The second round MTN-FUBA league promises to be an exhilarating one, and what better way to draw the curtains open with a day of All-Star action today at YMCA, Wandegeya.
The eighth edition of FUBA All-Star day will feature the league’s best players, the rookies against the sophomores, three-point shootouts and the fan favourite’s, the slam dunk contest showcased in both Men and Ladies categories.

“I think the competitive edge will be there because players have different abilities, which they may show during the league, so it’s going to be interesting,” said Joseph Manano, FUBA’s technical committee member.

“We shall start early because we have a number of things to handle. The teams’ technical committee followed the selection of players by fans made via SMSs to FUBA,” Manano noted.

There will also be a raping/singing competition, dancing competitions, performances from local artists like GNL and Peter Miles and voting of the Mr and Ms. Sprite All-Stars 2009.

Team A – Norman Blick, Julius Lutwama, Ben Komakech, Makmot Orom, F. Olaba, Joseph Ikongo, Isaac Afidra, Paul Wakimwero, J. Chaka, Brian Ssentongo and Coach T. Odeke.

Team B – Ronnie Kasewu, Ivan Enabu, C. Biko, J. Enabu, Ramathani Abdulahi, Steven Okias, Steven Omony, Eric Malinga, Robert Mugabe, Henry Malinga, and Coach G. Eteu.

Angola became the first side to book a trip to the 2010 FIBA World Championship in the 2009 race by beating Tunisia 79-69 in Friday’s first Afrobasket Semi-Final in Libya.

Joaquim ‘Kika’ Gomes led the way for the defending African champions with 18 points, including a two-of-three effort from behind the arc, and also pulled down seven rebounds.

Angola, the dominant side on the continent in recent years, also got 15 points from Carlos Morais and 14 from big man Eduardo Mingas.
Morais was three of four shooting from long range while Gomes and Mingas each pulled down seven rebounds.
The Angolans’ qualification for Turkey will bring back memories of their terrific run at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan.
In that tournament, they will be best remembered for taking Dirk Nowitzki and Germany to triple overtime in the Preliminary Round before falling 108-103.
They still advanced to the Eight-Finals before losing a hard-fought game to France, 68-62.
After hosting the Afrobasket in 2007 and winning gold, Angola competed at last year’s Olympics in China.
Reaching the big event in Turkey next year, therefore, has continued an incredible run of playing in major tournaments for the African giants.
Tunisia were surprise semi-finalists in Libya and they gave Angola fits. They led by as many as three points in the contest and even won the rebounding battle 36-30.
Atef Maoua had 16 points in defeat for Tunisia, who can still reach the FIBA World Championship if they win the bronze-medal game in Libya against the loser of the second Semi-Final between the Ivory Coast or Cameroon.

FINAL
Angola - Ivory Coast 82-72
Angola made it once again! This time Angolans outplayed Ivory Coast in the Big Final winning the sixth consecutive Gold on FIBA Africa Championships. Since AfroBasket 1999, Angola is totally unreachable on African continent. Senegal grabbed the Gold in 1997 and before that Angola was No.1 four consecutive times. It means that in the last 11 tournaments Angola won 10 gold medals. Today, Carlos Morais (190-G-85) paced Angola to victory scoring 21 points. Joaquim Gomes (200-C/F-80, agency: Prime Select Sports, college: Valparaiso) had 16 points and pulled down 16 rebounds, while Olimpio Cipriano (194-F-82) is another player with 16 pts. Armando Costa (192-G-83) helped with 5 points less. In the loosing squad, Pape-Philippe Amagou (185-G-85) netted 18. Angola had impressive second half today finishing it with 48-37. After 30 minutes it was 58-54 for Angolans and later Ivory Coast closed the gap to 3 points. However, Angola created 11-4 run with 4:22 to go resolving question about the winner. Both countries booked a ticket for 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

Places 3-4
Tunisia - Cameroon 83-68
Tunisia cruised past Cameroon in style grabbing the Bronze on AfroBasket 2009 in Libya. At the same time Tunisians booked a spot for the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey, what is great success for them. On the other side, Cameroon stays without the medal and also without participation in Turkey. Amine Rzig (199-G/F-80) once again was a key player in Tunisia collecting 20 points and 5 assists. Mokhtar Ghyaza (204-C-86) followed him with 16, while Marouana Kechrid (180-G-81) added 2 points less. In Cameroon, Cyrille Makanda (195-G-80) shined with 18 points. All other players had less than 10 pts in this loss.

Places 5-6
Central Africa - Nigeria 71-80
Nigeria outplayed Central Africa 80-71 finishing the AfroBasket 2009 in Libya on 5th place. Of course, CAF is the 6th ranked team on this event. Michael Efevberha (196-G-84, college: Cal.St. Northridge) stepped up for the winners scoring 18 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. Ebi Ere (195-G/F-81, college: Oklahoma) had 14 and Benson Egemonye (208-C-83, college: Northeastern) helped with 14 pts. In CAF, Lionel Bomayako (196-G-78, agency: Court Side, college: Fairleigh Dickinson) drained 21 points. Regis Koundjia-Sindo (203-F-83, college: George Washington) delivered 13.

Places 7-8
Mali - Senegal 63-74
Senegal closed its participation in Libya with victory. It was a decisive game for 7th place on this event and Senegal made it. Naturally, one lower spot belongs to Mali. Senegal had couple of players in a game mood today. Mouhammad Faye (206-F-85) was the best one with 16 points. Pape Sow (208-F-81, college: Cal.St. Fullerton) had 13 pts and 15 rebounds, while Malick Badiane (211-F/C-84) delivered 12 pts. Amara Sy (202-F-81) collected 22 points and 6 rebounds in defeat. Ludovic Chelle (185-G-83) once again followed him with 15 points and 8 boards.

BY JULIUS MBARAGA

TRIPOLI, LIBYA - The Rwandan team feel they deserve a better explanation after being ranked last after the round of eight.

The team which won two of its three matches at this stage still came last on the final ranking which was released Tuesday morning and Innocent Karuhije, one of Rwanda’s team officials feels that the country deserves a better explanation from Fiba-Africa, the tournament organisers.
“I don’t think Fiba has given us a good explanation for this.

If they considered our head to head game with Morocco, then maybe we ought to be in the quarter-finals because we beat Cameroon,” the frustrated official said.

In Group F, Rwanda finished on level points (nine) with Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR) and Morocco but still came last in the group while on the comparative ranking displayed on the tournament website (www.libya2009.fiba.com), Rwanda is ranked 9th ahead of Morocco in 10th spot.

Rwanda, who would have preferred to play Egypt in the classification game were last night faced with a huge task of having to overcome hosts Libya in their backyard.

Angola - Central Africa 84-63
The defending champion did not have any troubles to beat Central Africa and to reach the Semifinals of AfroBasket 2009 in Libya. It means that Angolans remain perfect on this event with 7 consecutive wins. On the other side, CAF will continue in Classification Games for 5-8 place. Joaquim Gomes (200-C/F-80, agency: Prime Select Sports, college: Valparaiso) shined in victory collecting 29 points and 9 rebounds. Carlos Morais (190-G-85) also had very important role netting 27 pts. All other players had less than 10. In CAF, Romain Lebel Guessagba (194-G-81, college: Xavier) answered with 14 points and 8 boards. Max Kougere (198-F-87) contributed with 12 pts and 6 boards. Angola will meet Tunisia in the Semis.

Mali - Tunisia 73-74
Tunisia advanced to Semifinals of AfroBasket 2009 in Libya with tiny 74-73 win against Mali. That was very exciting game and Tunisians grabbed it because Amara Sy (202-F-81) missed the second free throw with less than two seconds to go. Today, they will take on the defending champion - Angola in the Semis. Mali is transferred to Classification Games for 5-8 place. Amine Rzig (199-G/F-80) led the winners with 18 points. Marouana Kechrid (180-G-81) had one point less. In the loosing squad, Amara Sy delivered 21 pts and grabbed 5 boards. Waly Coulibaly (193-G/F-88) stopped on 14 pts.

Nigeria - Cameroon 80-84
Cameroon did a great job in this game and won it 84-80, despite Nigeria finished last quarter 24-18. It means that Cameroonians advanced to Afrobasket 2009 Semifinals, where they will take on Ivory Coast. On the other side, this is the second consecutive loss for Nigeria, who will continue in Classification Games for 5-8 place. Gaston Essengue (203-F-83, college: UNLV) top-scored in victory with 17, while Harding Ngueyep Nana (203-F-81, college: Delaware) netted one points less, plus grabbed 8 boards. Parfait Bitee (188-G-85, agency: Court Side) added 12 pts, 8 boards and 7 assists. In Team Cameroon, Michael Efevberha (196-G-84, college: Cal.St. Northridge) collected 24 pts and 6 rebounds. Ebi Ere (195-G/F-81, college: Oklahoma) stopped on 13 pts.

Ivory Coast - Senegal 84-78
Ivory Coast handed 84-78 loss to Senegal advancing to AfroBasket 2009 Semifinals. Ivory Coast reached this stage as No.4 from Group A and despite Senegal was favorite in this game, Ivory Coast made it and they will now take on Cameroon. Senegal will go to Classification Games for 5-8 place. Didier Tape (197-F-81) and Pape-Philippe Amagou (185-G-85) netted 15 points each for the winners. Mohamed Kone (211-C-81, college: Valparaiso) followed with double-double, 14 pts and 10 rebounds. Mouhammad Faye (206-F-85) posted 22 points in defeat. Boniface Ndong (213-C-77) had 20 pts and 9 boards.

Places 9-12
Egypt - Morocco 88-62
Egypt cruised past Morocco in Libya staying in the race for position No.9. In order to do that, Egypt will have to beat Rwanda today. On the other side, Morocco will meet the hosts Libya in the battle for 11th place. Amir Fanan (189-G-80) was the best player in the winning squad draining 23 points. Wael Badr (193-G-78) had 13, while Amro Sherif (192-G-91) and Mohamed Yasser (205-C-85) added 11 pts each. Morocco got 14 points from Sophiane Rafai (193-G-86). Yunss Akinocho (198-F-87, college: Coll.Sequoias CC) had 10.

Libya - Rwanda 77-80
Rwanda finished the first task in the battle for 9th place successfully. The second one will be more difficult as Rwanda will have to beat Egypt today. The host of Afrobasket 2009, Libya will take on Morocco fighting for 11th place. Kenny Gasana (-84) led Rwanda to win scoring 24pointys and grabbing 8 rebounds. Matt Miller (182-G-82, college: Bellarmine) had 15 and Carlos Mugabo (-86) delivered 12 pts. Mohamed Mrsal (-G-78) shined in loss scoring 24 points. Mohamed Youssef (-86) collected 16 pts, 7 boards and 7 assists.

BY JULIUS MBARAGA

Classification games
Today
Libya v Rwanda (7pm)
Egypt v Morocco
Quarter-finals
Angola v CAR (2pm)
Mali v Tunisia
Nigeria v Cameroon
Ivory Coast v Senegal

TRIPOLI, LIBYA - Rwanda’s mission of finishing inside the top eight at this year’s Afrobasket championships in Libya was blown apart after narrowly missing out on a quarter-final slot.

Just like Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR) and Morocco, Rwanda amassed nine points after the round of eight but their inferior point difference meant that they could not progress into the quarters.

Rwanda grossed a point difference of -3 while CAR and Cameroon raked in 57 and 33 respectively to join group leaders Senegal and Tunisia in the last eight.

In the other group, Angola, Nigeria, Mali and Ivory Coast progressed to the final eight.

Rwanda will however, carry a lot of positives from their round of eight campaign were they won two of their three games.

Apart from the Central African Republic 64-85 defeat, Rwanda took the tournament by storm after registering convincing wins over pre-tournament favourites Cameroon and Senegal.

By Erick Ochieng’

The final leg of the Sprite Slam Basketball tournament kicks off tomorrow at Nairobi Railway Club.

Former All-Star and National Basketball Association (NBA) power forward Juwan Antonio Howard, who plays for Charlotte Bobcats, will help with the two-day selection.
Between five and seven players will be chosen from 21 who will then contest for a final slot in Nairobi.
The players chosen will join a contingent of 21 selected from the previous regional activations for a trip to South Africa where they will attend the "Basketball Without Borders" NBA camp in Johannesburg next month.

Sprite Slam featured a series of mini-camps in Eldoret, Kisumu and Mombasa where the players who will be in contest tomorrow were picked.

Novice players

The mini-camps were held between July 25 and August 7 and attended by professional and novice players. Hundreds are expected at the Nairobi Railway Club today for a daylong mini-camp supervised by Kenya Basketball Federation coaches.

Other countries staging the tournament include Uganda and Angola and will send five players each to the BWB camp.
Programme Managers appointed by Miles & Associates International are running the event in each of the participating nations.
In Kenya the event is managed and sponsored by Coca-Cola East and Central Africa to the tune of Sh40 million.

The company is investing the funds in the discovery of youth talent in the sport, as well as refurbishing 50 basketball courts across the country.

Group E
Angola - Nigeria 93-85
The defending champion was too strong for Nigeria becoming the only undefeated team on AfroBasket 2009 in Libya. Of course, Angolans finished this stage as No.1 in Group E and they will meet Central Africa in the Quarterfinals. Nigeria also advanced to Quarterfinals, but from position No.2. They will meet Cameroon. Eduardo Mingas (200-F-79) led Angola in this match with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Carlos Morais (190-G-85) scored 16, Olimpio Cipriano (194-F-82) had 13 and Armando Costa (192-G-83) helped with 12 points. Gabe Muoneke (200-F-78, college: Texas) was on fire in loss - 33 points (also had 7 rebounds). Second scorer in Team Nigeria was Michael Efevberha (196-G-84, college: Cal.St. Northridge) with 16 points.

Egypt - Ivory Coast 64-80
Ivory Coast celebrated 80-64 win against Egypt yesterday improving to 3-3 in Qualifying Group E. That is enough for position No.4 and AfroBasket 2009 Quarterfinals. On the other side, Egypt fell to 1-5 in this pool and it will continue in Classification Round. Charles-Noe Abouo (196-G/F-89) stepped up for the winners with 15 points and 6 rebounds. P. Kale (203-F-85, agency: Bradley Sports Management) followed him with 14 points and 7 rebounds, while Mohamed Kone (211-C-81, college: Valparaiso) added 13 pts and 13 rebs. In the loosing squad, Amir Fanan (189-G-80) delivered 18 points (plus 8 boards). Tamer Moustafa (187-G-82) contributed with 13 pts. The Quarterfinals begin tomorrow, when Ivory Coast will meet No.1 from group F - Senegal.

Mali - Libya 95-73
Mali outplayed the host of AfroBasket 2009 moving up to 4-2 record in Group E. No.2 Nigeria has 5-1 and No.4 Ivory Coast 3-3, meaning that Mali advanced to Quarterfinals from position No.3. Libya failed to advance and it will continue in the battle for 9th place. Waly Coulibaly (193-G/F-88) was a key player in victory collecting 25 points. Nouha Diakite (207-C-80, college: Louisville) had 12 points and 10 boards, while Ludovic Chelle (185-G-83) added 14 pts, 6 boards and 5 assists. In Team Libya, Alfath Belgasem (197-F/G-80, college: St.John's) had 18 points. Raed Elhamali (204-F/C-79, agency: Edge Sports, college: San Diego St.) added one less.

Group F
Rwanda - Cameroon 82-69
Rwanda outplayed Cameroon in the last day of Qualifying Round in Libya. After this game both teams are on 3-3 record in Group F and there are also Central Africa and Morocco with the same numbers. Fortunately to Cameroon, they have the best record in this magic circle, what is enough for position No.3. They will meet Nigeria in the Quarterfinals. On the other side, Rwanda has the worst score and it will continue in Classification Games for 9th place. Kenny Gasana (-84) led Rwanda in this game with 24 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Carlos Mugabo (-86) followed with 22 points and 7 boards. Joachim Ekanga Ehawa (188-G-77) and Harding Ngueyep Nana (203-F-81, college: Delaware) had 12 pts each in defeat. Ruben Boumtje (212-C-78, college: Georgetown) stopped on 10.

Tunisia - Senegal 65-73
Senegal cruised past Tunisia in the last day of Qualifying Round ending it with 4-2 record in Group F. Thanks to this victory Senegal is No.1 in this pool and Tunisia fell to No.2. It means that Senegal will meet the fourth ranked team from Group E in the Quarterfinal - Ivory Coast. On the other side, Tunisia will play against Mali. Boniface Ndong (213-C-77) shined for the winners scoring 18 points and pulling down 9 rebounds. Maleye NDoye (203-F-80, college: Furman) had 15 points and 5 boards, while Mouhammad Faye (206-F-85) added 13 pts. Mohamed Hdidane (205-F-86) posted 14 pts in loss. Tunisia also got 11 points from Amine Rzig (199-G/F-80).

Morocco - Central Africa 73-81
Crucial win for Central Africa in Qualifying Round. With this victory CAF joined Morocco with 3-3 record in group F and there are also Cameroon and Rwanda with the same numbers. CAF is the second ranked team in this circle what is enough for position No.4 and AfroBasket 2009 Quarterfinals. Morocco dropped to position No.5 and it will be transferred to Classification Games for 9th place. Romain Lebel Guessagba (194-G-81, college: Xavier) paced CAF to victory with monster double-double, 25 points and 17 rebounds. Max Kougere (198-F-87) had 12, while Francois Pehoua (196-F-83) and Lionel Bomayako (196-G-78, agency: Court Side, college: Fairleigh Dickinson) added 10 pts each. Younes Idrissi (204-F/C-84, agency: Pro Management Agency, college: Iona) and Reda Rhalimi (213-C-82, college: St.Mary's, CA) posted 15 pts each in loss. Zakaria El Masbahi (191-G-79) added one pts less.

THERE’S still no change at the top of the women’s and men’s division one league standings after another round of matches last weekend on Praslin and at the Palais des Sports.

RA Sisters 20 … HotShots 112

Women’s champions HotShots had no trouble steamrolling RA Sisters 112-20 despite losing HotShots’ Toussaint has equalled teammate Beguitta Fontaine’s season-high seven 3-pointersplaymaker Zerah Fontaine early in the second quarter after an accidental clash with veteran Lina Lestrange.
According to reports, the HotShots youngster suffered a cut to her right eye, but her absence had very little impact on the team’s play as Jenita Toussaint tied her big sister Beguitta Fontaine’s season-high seven 3-pointers for 21 of her 29 points.
Seychelles international forward Myra Solin got a game-leading 32 points, centre Tina Agathine added 22 and Beguitta Fontaine netted 16 as HotShots collected their fifth win in six games, while RA Sisters, who got eight points from skipper Katherina Morel, have just one win in six matches.

Anse Etoile Stars 74 … Juniors 13

Former champions Anse Etoile Stars were a class above the young Cadettes team, winning 74-13 on the back of 27 points from veteran captain and Seychelles international Simone Malbrook, whose 14-year-old daughter Yana Malbrook starred for the losing team and scored two points.
Recruited from RA Sisters during the mid-season transfer window, Malagasies Rakotomandimby Fahatitra and Rakotomandimby Miantratsiory got 10 points apiece in the Stars’ fifth win.

Cascade Bullets 56 … Baya 96

Player of the year Jean-Paul ‘JP’ Camille again had the hot hands with 22 points, including two three-pointers, as Baya extended their unbeaten run to 14 games.
But the champions missed reaching the century mark for the fourth consecutive game in a 40-point margin 96-56 victory over Cascade Bullets, who were without coach Grégoire Scholastique.
Dave Roseline (20 points), centre Timmy Adama, who was plagued by foul trouble (14), and Nigel Annette (12 from four 3-pointers) contributed to Baya’s win after they also beat Praslin Warriors 95-67 away the weekend before.
Kenneth Sophie and Biko Biong combined for 25 points for the Bullets, who have now lost 10 times in 14 games.

RC Dynamics 66 … PLS Hawks 82

RC Dynamics looked capable of hurting PLS Hawks until their top player Jean-Paul Desaubin fouled out with five minutes left in the fourth quarter with 21 points and was followed to the substitutes’ bench a minute later by their second-best scorer Jourdan William, who finished with 13 points.
Although Wilby Domingue tried to pick up the slack, the Hawks banked on their experience in the absence of key players like international centre Rodney Lozé, who was in the stands after the passing of his mother, and veteran power forward Jim Domingue, who coaches the RC Dynamics team. They outscored their opponents 29-19 in the fourth quarter after winning the first three on close scores of 16-14, 17-14 and 20-19.
Although coach Domingue might have enjoyed a rare Dynamics win over the Hawks, it would have put him and his Hawks teammates at a disadvantage over Baya in the head-to-head chase for the league title.
Neddy ‘Oye’ Fanchette avoided fouling out to finish with a joint game-high 21 points, while centre Barry Baron added 16 and captain Bernard Bristol netted 13 in Hawks’ 11th victory in 12 games.
Dynamics, who had won their previous match against Beau Vallon Heat on a 61-47 score, have 17 points after two victories and 13 defeats.

Mont Fleuri Dawgz 49 … Premium Cobras 96

Amadou Sylla was on fire with a game-high 25 points for Premium Cobras, who also got 24 from Nigerian Alao Solomon and 12 from captain and Seychelles power forward Dominic Pillay in a 96-49 win over Mont Fleuri Dawgz.
After beating the Bullets 83-52 the weekend before, the Cobras, whose coach Lenny ‘Bad’ Aglaé was hit with a technical foul even before the tip-off after his mistake over the players’ jersey numbers, have now won 12 games in 15 outings.
Last year’s second division winners Dawgz were led in scoring by Aubrey ‘Spider’ Adeline with 13 points, and Nigel Cafrine banked four treys for 12 points as they suffered their eighth defeat in 13 games.

Beau Vallon Heat 41 … MBU Rockers 74

Swingman Cyril Agrippine (nine points) and top scorer Brian Morel (21, including three baskets from downtown) fouled out, but MBU Rockers shut down coach Valli Ismaël’s Beau Vallon Heat 74-41.
Playmaker Nigel Sinon got 19 points and Nigel ‘Jah’ Henriette added 11 as the Rockers rebounded from their 83-114 loss to the Cobras. This was their 10th victory in 14 games for 24 points.
Finishing with 12 points, Pascal Bibi was the only player in double figures for the Heat, who are a place from bottom with 16 points (two wins and 12 defeats).

Praslin Warriors 93 … Angels 95

Centre Steve Antat showed Praslinois that big men can shoot, scoring five treys to finish with a game-high 39 points as Angels broke home team Praslin Warriors’ hearts in a 95-93 victory.
Anse Boileau-based Angels won the second and fourth quarters 33-26 and 25-20 after the Warriors tied them at 19-19 in the first and won the third 28-18.
Captain Kieren Agathine and Barry Dubignon finished with 20 points apiece for Angels, whose win was their seventh in 13 games for 20 points.
Although skipper Jackson Auguste netted 31 points, Joseph Souffe got 29 and Fabien Athanase added 16, the Warriors are still carrying the weight of the 10-team standings with 15 points after a victory and 13 defeats.

G. G.

BY JULIUS MBARAGA

TRIPOLI, LIBYA - IN a physically demanding tournament like the on-going 2009Afrobasket championship in Libya, players need to eat and eat well.

Sadly, it looks like Bab-Albahar hotel; the residence of the participating teams did not do their homework well. Apart from the breakfast, the hotel has stuck to serving Libyan dishes during lunch and supper leaving the players very discontented.

The teams have complained that they are being fed on dry food. “We are struggling with the food. It’s very dry and we don’t have any options,” a frustrated Senegalese player said.

Half of the Rwandan team has now resorted to Pizzas from a nearby restaurant.
“The players are not happy with the meals so we have decided to supplement the meals with Pizzas because that’s the best we can get,” one of Rwanda’s team officials Innocent Karuhije said.
“It’s frustrating when you have to eat the same food every single day,” Rwanda’s team captain Hamza Ruhezamihigo added.

Sande Bashaija
Kampala

Zone 5 winners and hosts since 1995
Year Hosts Men Women
1995 Harare Posta KCB Lioness
1996 Nairobi Co-op KCB Lioness
1997 Kampala Co-op KCB Lioness
1998 Dar Co-op KCB Lioness
1999 Lusaka Cobras Telkom
2000 Kampala Falcons Ogopa
2001 Kigali Vijana APR
2002 Nairobi APR KPA
2003 Zanzibar Ulinzi JKT
2004 Kampala PostBank Lady Bucks
2005 Dar KCB Storms
2006 Nairobi KCB KPA
2007 Kigali APR KPA
2008 Addis APR KPA
2009 Kampala Coop KPA

Going by results from the recently concluded Africa Zone 5 Sprite Championship, something is evidently wrong in the DMark Power camp. The local league champions came into the 19-team regional tournament as Uganda’s biggest silverware hopeful.

After all they had destroyed all the nine teams in the MTN-Fuba League first round and in them Ugandans had belief of landing a first men’s zonal title in five years. But Power chose to press the reverse button. In a group of five teams, they only managed two wins, one of which came against local rivals Warriors. The 98-96 result against Warriors was, however, inconsequential as the latter had already made the semifinals and the former eliminated. So what happened to a team that boasts of Uganda’s best talent? “I think we were not fully prepared for the tournament,” the league’s most valuable player Ben Komakech, argued. “But everything will be fine.” Undoubtedly, Power have the biggest following in Uganda at the moment, thanks to their extravagant talent and ‘sexy’ basketball.

However, you’ve got to feel for diehard fans that had to forego their duties and dig deep into their pockets to watch the champions run around the basketball court, with little purpose, it must be added.

An 89-53 thumping of Tanzanian side JKT got Power rolling, prompting expectations of a smooth sailing. But the road would later get bumpy. Cooperative Bank squeezed Power, downing them 63-61 although the Ugandans still had a mathematical chance of making the last four even after the loss.

Playing at Makerere University, a venue that surprisingly attracted a handful of fans on the day, Power blew their last chance when they carelessly lost to Rwandan outfit CSK 82-91. Everything went amiss thereafter. Insiders in the Power camp revealed to Scoreline that two senior players exchanged blows after the loss, an embarrassing scenario that is just a tip of the iceberg of a brewing crisis at Power.

With only pride to play for, only six Power players turned up in time for their classification match against Marines of Rwanda. Although they went on to win 99-88, the incident of a depleted Power bench exposed depth of cracks developing in the team. Conspicuously missing during that match was Shs20m signing Norman Blick. The former MVP had picked bruises against CSK but his absence reportedly brushed the club managers the wrong way. Yet, it has been reported that Blick does not see eye to eye with Isaac Afidra, the man he replaced as Power captain at the beginning of the season.

Despite admitting that all is not rosy in the Power camp, Afidra, one of the most outstanding players in last year’s play-offs, denies being at parallels with Blick. “That is all nonsense. There is nothing like a misunderstanding between Blick and I,” he said.
Since the arrival of Norman and his brother Donald, knowledgeable sources claim, there have been tensions in the team because of the ‘large’ sums of money paid to the duo.
“Players who have served this club for long think they deserve better,” revealed the source on grounds of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the press.

Norman signed a two-year contract but his agent Sabuni Kamal won’t think twice about trading his client to another club if the situation doesn’t get better at Power. “Why would someone want a player to come for a game when he is injured,” Kamal wondered. “Norman is a professional and his services are valued highly by many clubs. I think some things must change in the team set-up.”
It’s really a difficult task discerning what is threatening to bring down a hitherto promising project. But Barnes Ankunda seems to know the problem. “That team needs someone capable of stepping on the players’ egos. Most of them feel they are big and want to prove a point to each other. They can’t listen to anyone,” Ankunda, who won last year’s championship with Power as an assistant coach said.

Ankunda left the three-time champions towards the end of this season’s first round after misunderstandings with the powers that be at Power. Second round is just days away and questions will be asked whether Power can maintain their unbeaten run and hold off a fired-up Warriors side and record champions Falcons, to retain their trophy. “There is no way that Zone 5 performance is going to affect us in the league. The league is business as usual,” Afidra noted.

Real warriors
In contrast, Peter Wandukwa, an assistant coach at Warriors, reckons that Zone 5 could have marked a shift of power on the local scene. “Although we lost, reaching the final is just good enough for us. No one expected us to get here and everyone should watch out when the league resumes,” Wandukwa noted. Warriors lost to Cooperative 47-53 in the final but made Uganda proud by their brave performances throughout the week.

Their come-from-behind victory against Kenyan champions KCB Lions in the semifinals was the highlight of the tournament. It’s only disappointing that they failed to break down Cooperative in the final, a team they had beaten 64-60 in preliminaries.
To single out a few, Tanzanian Ramathan Abdullahi, Jude Ochen and tournament top scorer Ronnie Kasewu, were too outstanding and should they pull off similar heroics, Warriors won’t let Power run away with the league trophy with ease.

Leopards
Kampala City Council (KCC) Leopards lost the women’s Zone 5 final 47-65 to Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) but their general performance in the tournament was satisfactory.
The 74-66 drubbing of Rwanda Patriotic Army (APR) left a lasting memory in many a fan’s mind. It was the biggest upset of the tournament. “It’s the first time we were playing in the final and I can’t complain that we have lost,” KCC official Dennis Karugaba commented. “Let’s now focus on taking the league title and plan for next year’s Zone 5.”

A-1 Challenge were grouped with KCC and failed to make the semifinals and their squad looks slightly depleted compared to the mayor’s ladies. And now that Zone 5 is behind us, both sides are keen to outdo each other in the league. Its just a question of time before we see who delivers.

Zone 5 at a glance
Worst moment: When a KCB Lions player threatened to hit some Warriors supporters with a bottle. The incident brought the final to a halt, prompting police to swing into action.
Best moment: When KCC Leopards shocked APR to make the women’s final.
MVP men: Atike Omondi (Coop): A very daring player that can fit comfortably in any position on the court.

Women: Irene Mulambe (KPA): A true warrior, whose flair left many opponents in awe.
Best individual performance: Stephen Omony’s 34-point haul as Falcons edged Newstars 86-85 in the group stages.
Worst team performance: Power’s 82-91 loss to CSK. The Uganda champions played like a disjointed unit.
Craziest moment: When an animated female fan decided to entertain the crowd during the Falcons-Newstar game.