Basketball in Africa

THE Dar es Salaam regional basketball team, ‘Dream Team’, departs tomorrow for Mombasa, Kenya, ready for the month’s East and Central Africa Inter-Cities basketball championships.

The five-day championships will start on Tuesday and has attracted 15 teams from Zanzibar, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and hosts Kenya.

Basketball Dar es Salaam (BD) Spokesman Michael Maluwe said today that the team is in a positive frame of mind and confidence is high that ‘Dream Team’ will shine in Coastal City of Kenya.

Maluwe said Dar es Salaam will compete in both men and ladies categories in the annual championships.

He named players in the ladies’ category as Lucy Augustino, Amina Ahmed, Hadija Kalambo, Zakhia Kondo, Jasmin Bablia, Faraja Malaki, Jackline Shemeza, Fanuna Yesini, Annomisiata Anthony and Jabu Shaabani.

The team will be under the tutelage of Leonard Kwale and team manager Judith Ilunda. The mean’s team is formed by Frank Kusiga, Gerald Baru, Mohamed Yusuph, Francis Mlewa, Slyvian Yunzu, Mkumbo Mgendi, Sunday Matondo, George Tarimo, Lusajo Lazaro, Gilbert Batungi, Naftari Msogoti and Jimmy Brown.

Francis Msisi is a team doctor. He said the team will be under Coach Bahati Mgunda. The head of delegation is Mbaga Mwamboma and technical official Manase Zablon.

Dar es Salaam will also send two referees in the championships who are Haleluya Kavalambi and Jerome Shimbe.

Mombasa, being the host city, would enter two men and the same number of women’s teams comprising schoolboys and girls to expose the students.

Kenya Ports Authority Welfare Centre and Mombasa Baptist High are the official play courts for the championships.

Some of the teams expected are Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza and Tanga (all from Tanzania), Zanzibar, Harare (Zimbabwe), Mogadishu (Somalia) and APR of Rwanda. Nairobi will enter both men and women’s teams.

Mombasa and Nairobi will be defending men and women’s titles they won last year in Arusha.