22 June 2010
BOTSWANA : Fancied Police struggles in basketball league
by NELSON DIRENG
Fancied Police find themselves in unfamiliar territory in the Botswana Basketball Association (BBA) league as they surprisingly anchor the log.
The giants finished third last year and have been a perennial threat to Troopers' dominance. This season, Police have lost two games - falling to lowly Splinters and Troopers in successive weekends.
Police treasurer, Kabo Khama, attributes their position to the high level of competition in the league this season."Teams such as Splinters and Eagles have shown a lot of dedication in the league this year as they have performed exceptionally well thus far," he explained. Khama said Splinters prevailed over his team because they have a tall player who took advantage of Police's diminutive players. "Splinters had a very big player whom they used as an advantage over our small players throughout the game," he said. He added that their low position is also due to the fact that they have played fewer games than the leading three teams. Khama remains confident that his team will soon start climbing up the log. He said they face a tough task to beat Spartans before their game against Troopers to be assured of a top three finish. He believes if they beat the two teams, considered the toughest, they will have a good chance against the rest. Meanwhile, BBA spokesman, Thuli Jankey said the league has proceeded without major hiccups. He said their challenge remains failure to honour fixtures. "Some teams fail to honour matches because of transport problems whilst some do so without reason," he explained.
Jankey said the BBA will not hesitate to take action against teams that fail to honour fixtures without valid reasons. He said that teams that forfeit games will be fined and suspended from the league if they offend three times.
Jankey said they might consider rescheduling games as attention has focused on the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He said the World Cup has not affected spectator turnout so far but if things change, games may be re-scheduled. "Most of the games are played before 6pm creating space for people to watch the evening (World Cup) games," he said. The BBA league continue tomorrow at the Sir Seretse Khama Barracks (SSKB) Basketball Courts. Spartans are top with 11 points, while Troopers and Falcons are second and third with eight and seven points respectively.
Fixtures
Eagles vs Splinters
Troopers vs NIIT
Cadets vs Eagles
NIIT vs Splinters.
Fancied Police find themselves in unfamiliar territory in the Botswana Basketball Association (BBA) league as they surprisingly anchor the log.
The giants finished third last year and have been a perennial threat to Troopers' dominance. This season, Police have lost two games - falling to lowly Splinters and Troopers in successive weekends.
Police treasurer, Kabo Khama, attributes their position to the high level of competition in the league this season."Teams such as Splinters and Eagles have shown a lot of dedication in the league this year as they have performed exceptionally well thus far," he explained. Khama said Splinters prevailed over his team because they have a tall player who took advantage of Police's diminutive players. "Splinters had a very big player whom they used as an advantage over our small players throughout the game," he said. He added that their low position is also due to the fact that they have played fewer games than the leading three teams. Khama remains confident that his team will soon start climbing up the log. He said they face a tough task to beat Spartans before their game against Troopers to be assured of a top three finish. He believes if they beat the two teams, considered the toughest, they will have a good chance against the rest. Meanwhile, BBA spokesman, Thuli Jankey said the league has proceeded without major hiccups. He said their challenge remains failure to honour fixtures. "Some teams fail to honour matches because of transport problems whilst some do so without reason," he explained.
Jankey said the BBA will not hesitate to take action against teams that fail to honour fixtures without valid reasons. He said that teams that forfeit games will be fined and suspended from the league if they offend three times.
Jankey said they might consider rescheduling games as attention has focused on the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He said the World Cup has not affected spectator turnout so far but if things change, games may be re-scheduled. "Most of the games are played before 6pm creating space for people to watch the evening (World Cup) games," he said. The BBA league continue tomorrow at the Sir Seretse Khama Barracks (SSKB) Basketball Courts. Spartans are top with 11 points, while Troopers and Falcons are second and third with eight and seven points respectively.
Fixtures
Eagles vs Splinters
Troopers vs NIIT
Cadets vs Eagles
NIIT vs Splinters.
# posted by afrbk : 18:13
