Basketball in Africa

By Brown Msyani

The Citizen Correspondent
Dar es Salaam. A partisan crowd is expected at the National Indoor Stadium today when basketball giants Vijana and ABC lock horns in the RBA League match.Matches involving the two teams usually attract tens of basketball fans, mainly the youth, and today’s showdown is expected to follow that tradition. Both teams were yesterday busy, perfecting their tactics for what promises to be an exciting match.
The two teams last met in the RBA League last year at the same venue where Vijana, better known in the basketball circles as City Bulls, hit their rivals 65-58.
But Vijana should not expect an easy ride today because ABC have been very impressive this year.
Filbert Mwaipungu, one of the country’s best basketball players at the moment, is among the players Vijana must mark tightly if they want to grab the two points at stake in today’s encounter.
The other key players for ABC are Gilbert Batungi, Adamu Jegame and Juma Kisocky while Vijana will likely bank on Jacob Malenga, Mohamed Dibo and Mohamed Heri to score points.ABC will be fighting for their first victory in the league, while Vijana, who beat Pazi 61-56 in their opening match, will be seeking their second win.
Vijana coach Bahati Mgunda predicted a tough match yesterday, but remained optimistic that it would produce positive results for his team.
“ABC are a hard nut to crack when at their best as those who have seen them in action can attest,” said Mgunda.
“But our fans should expect positive results, we’re well prepared for the match,” he added.
His ABC counterpart, Leonard Kwale said his team would not afford another defeat to Vijana today.“They should expect the worst this time around. We’ll be all out for a win,” Kwale said confidently.