Basketball in Africa

By Frank Kimaro
WITH most basketball players and fans setting eyes on the forthcoming national championship, known as the Taifa Cup, Dar es Salaam Regional Basketball League (RBA) rages on at the National Indoor Stadium, with all teams determined to lift the trophy at the end of season.
Teams like Pazi, JKT and Don Bosco continued to shine in the league over the weekend. Don Bosco snatched a 71- 58 victory over Changombe United who have failed to improve by losing many matches in the league while Savio were severely punished 70-57 by JKT.
Pazi have continued to put themselves in a good position after winning two games consecutively over the weekend. They first edged out Vijana 'City Bulls' 97-93 and rounded up the win with an 89-63 thrashing of Kurasini.
In the ladies category, Don Bosco Lioness defeated Tanzania Prisons Queens 77-47, while JKT Stars humbled Vijana Queens 72-53. JKT Stars also defeated Prisons 84-55 as Vijana regained form to beat Chui 71-64.
Organised by Basketball Dar es Salaam, RBA aims to raise awareness and boost basketball in the region and the country at large. BD Vice-President Richard Julies said they are committed to revive basketball following the poor progression of competitions in recent years and the league was last held in the 2012/2013 season due to financial constraints.
"Our clubs didn't have the power to stand by themselves and we didn't have any sponsor. As a result, the association depended on clubs to donate something to run the league," he said.
"But now we have sponsors, Azam, and we are confident we'll be able to turn around basketball's fortunes," he added. Meanwhile, College of Business Education (CBE) thrashed the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) 59-31 in a highly competitive basketball match.
The monthly affair branded "Bball Kitaa Kamyu Uni Grudge Match" was commemorating its first anniversary because of the heated rivalry that exists between the two teams. Earlier this year CBE also won.
The winning team went home with a 1m/- cash prize, T-shirts and basketball shoes. One hundred thousand raffle prizes were also given away to fans throughout the game.
Speaking after the game, Angaza Nkurlu, Kaymu Tanzania's Head of Marketing as well as the initiator of the event, congratulated CBE for their good performance, saying the game was very competitive and entertaining.