Basketball in Africa

POOR national basketball teams kissed bye to the FIBA Africa Zone Five championship finals without a single point, as they succumbed to yet another defeats at the National Indoor Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
Both the mens side Tanzanite Kings and their sisters, the Tanzanite Queens showcased dismal performance throughout the campaign and there is nothing worth writing for them. The Tanzanite Kings yesterday suffered a 70-56 defeat at the hands of Rwanda in a hotly contested encounter at the same venue.
The home side started impressively and fans were convinced that at least, they would snatch their first victory in the campaign on Monday, but such hopes were short-lived as the tide turned against them. The combination of Mussa Chacha, Abdallah Ramadhani, Sudi Ulanga, Maige Slivian and Juma Kissoky played a well coordinated game especially in the third quarter with fans cheering it up all along.
However, the substitution made by the hired American coach, Jocquis Sconiers and his assistant Bahati Mgunda was to blame to some extent. It was a disappointing end to the Tanzanite Kings who were in pool A. They lost all their three group matchesÑgoing down 95-55 to mighty Egypt on Monday, before succumbing to another 80-66 against Uganda on Tuesday.
They will now fight for the fifth slot against a team that will finish last in Group B, which has Burundi, Kenya and Somalia as pundits fear for the worst. The same applies to the Tanzanite Queens who are playing in a round robin but has lost all their games in the three outings so far and are remained with two dates against Uganda and Burundi.
Egypt is in pole position to win the title in both categories going by the standards they have exhibited in the tournament so far. The Egyptians thrashed the Tanzanite Queens 100-26 points at the same venue late on Wednesday. As the first quarter finished the Tanzanite Queens managed to record two points against 29 of their opponents. The Tanzanite Queens are today listed to play Uganda at the same venue.