FIBA Africa Zone 6 Weekly Review: 26/08/2024

FIBA Africa Zone 6 Weekly Review: 26/08/2024

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With the FIBA U18 AfroBasket set to tip off in Pretoria, South Africa, in a week, the teams to compete in the event know their opponents after the tournament draw took place. The competition will take place from September 2-14 in Pretoria where the top 12 nations will compete in the men’s and women’s divisions. Zimbabwe who will send only their women’s team will face off against Egypt, Nigeria and Uganda. South Africa will not have it easy as they will play Tunisia and Cameroon who have been in camp for some time. The host nation has still not named their national team, a week from the tournament's tip-off.

Côte d’Ivoire's men’s team will face off against Cameroon, Mali and Senegal. Cameroon was the first nation to land in South Africa and has already played against some local teams in preparation for the tournament. Nigeria dominated its zone and will face the defending champions, Egypt, in what will be an entertaining game. The continental showpiece will be hosted at the University of Pretoria and if the BAL Kalahari Conference is anything to go by, South Africa will deliver an electric atmosphere. There is a lot at stake here as the finalists will represent the continent at the U19 FIBA World up in Switzerland in 2025.

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Basketball South Africa (BSA - national federation) have crowned the national champions after hosting a successful national club championship. The women’s division was played in a round-robin format where the team with the most point was crowned champions. Super Elite from Limpopo were crowned champions in the women’s division. The Limpopo outfit was established earlier this year and managed to put together a good team and claim the national championship. They have their eyes set on the FIBA Women’s Basketball League set to take place in Morocco later this year. The team has the nation’s backing and will continue to prepare for this.

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Made By Ball(MBB) Blue Soldiers were crowned champions in the men’s division. They dominated every game as they won with an average difference of 30 points throughout the tournament. The team consisted of the former national team captain, Neo Mothiba, and two former Cape Town Tigers captains, Lebesa Selepe and Pieter Prinsloo. The club from Johannesburg have their eyes set on the BAL. The question they ask is whether they will have to go through ROAD To BAL or if they will qualify directly to the BAL as they are hosting the Kalahari Conference. They defeated TS Vikings 80-58 in the finals. TS Vikings were coached by Flosh Ngwenya who was the Cape Town Tigers head coach and led them to the semi finals of the BAL.

Cape Town Tigers have parted ways with CEO and Chairperson, Raphael Edwards, after an investigation on mismanagement of funds and player payments was launched by the BAL. The South African side had ambitions of becoming a household name on the African continent and were surely headed in that direction as they were semi-finalists in the 2024 BAL. However, they were stopped in their tracks when players came out and said that they did not receive their BAL-set stipend and were essentially cut off from the team. This also comes after a few investors raised complaints on social media after some players refused to return to the team as a result of not getting paid for 5 months. Larry Kangas, an investor, said that he had written to the BAL about this but the BAL can only investigate any infringement at the BAL and not the Road To BAL as that is a FIBA event. The ownership of the team pulled them out of the national championship which meant that they will not feature in the BAL in 2025. They also took time to thank Mr Edwards for all his efforts and commitment to the team. They also reiterated that the franchise is owned solely by Severus LLC.

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[Photography / Imagery Courtesy of Big Tip Off, BAL and AfroBasket