Basketball in Africa

By Majuto Omary
The Citizen Reporter
Dar es Salaam. For Dar es Salaam basketball fans, the National Indoor Stadium is a place to go on Sunday as it hosts the RBA League final between ABC and JKT.Acting Dar es Salaam regional commissioner Sadick Meck Sadiq will be the chief guest at what promises to be a mouth-watering final.

The anxiously awaited duel will be preceded by women’s RBA final pitting traditional foes Jeshi Stars against JKT Stars.ABC booked a place in the final at the expense of Pazi while JKT cruised through after overcoming pre-tournament favourites Vijana in the second semi-final at the same venue last weekend.
Dar es Salaam Basketball (DB) official Mbaga Mwamboma said yesterday that preparations for the two finals were on course.
“The women’s final between Jeshi Stars and JKT Stars will start at 2pm while the match of the day between ABC and JKT will start two hours later,” Mwamboma said.The day will also see women’s teams Police and Tanzania Prisons face off in the third place playoff. The match will start at 10am at the same venue.

At noon, falling giants Vijana, popularly known as City Bulls, will take on their arch-rivals Pazi in the men’s third place play-off.
“I am optimistic that those who will turn up at the National Indoor Stadium will have lots of fun because the teams lined up for both men and women’s finals boast formidable squads,” Mwamboma said.

The third place playoff matches are also expected to be exciting because Vijana and Pazi, once rated the country’s big guns, command huge following in the city.The DB official admitted that they faced various hitches in organising this year’s league, one of them being unwillingness of sponsors.
“We are happy that the league is now inching towards the home stretch. We were afraid that lack of sponsorship could deny it the excitement and competitive edge it deserves,” he said.He said they have set aside trophies and medals for the winners of Sunday’s finals and third place playoffs.