Basketball in Africa

By Brown Msyani

Jeshi Stars waged brave fights yesterday to claim this year’s Dar es Salaam Regional Basketball titles at the National Indoor Stadium.
The TPDF girls sealed the league title after beating Don Bosco Lioness 63-53 in thrilling encounter.
Don Bosco Lioness started the game threateningly to seal 16-13 lead in the first quarter, but Jeshi Stars fought aggressively to level the score to 28 all at the end of the first half.
Jeshi Stars maintained their rhythm to seal a 42-37 lead at the end of the third quarter.

They added 21 points in the fourth quarter while restricting their opponents to post 18 points at the period.
Jabu Shaaban who emerged the match’s Most Valuable Player(MVP) was played a major role in Jeshi Stars victory.
Teamed up with Faraja Malaki upfront, Jabu penned 24 points for the winners while Malaki chalked 12 points.
Don Bosco Lioness banked on pointer Esther Nelson who fired 11 points and Jasmine Bablia who managed to card 10 points.
This year league saw both defending champions JKT, the men’s title winners and the ladies category champs JKT Stars bowing out of the league prematurely.
Meanwhile ABC defeated Oilers 63-49 to claim the league's third place in a play off match held at the same venue yesterday.
Playing tactful game, ABC showed winning intention right from the start. They finished the first half with commanding 34-24 lead and went on post 29 more points in the second half to claim a comfortable win.
Steven Atanasio of ABC fired incredible 21 points to end up the match's top scorer while his team mate Gilbert Batungi penned 11 points.
Oilers’ playmaker Gerald Baru fought bravely to score 14 points while his team mate Kadiola Joseph chalked 11 points.
Police beat holders JKT Stars 75-73 to claim the Ladies League's third place in the play off held on Saturday at the same venue.