All set for King and Queen of the Court

The pick-n- roll, the give-n-go will all be on show as the inaugural King and Queen of the Court National Basketball Championship rolls into life this evening at African Bible College (ABC) in Lilongwe.

The tournament is being sponsored to the tune of K5 million by local stationery, ICT, furtniture and sanitary suppliers G.Y Imports and Exports alongside their sister firm Dr Print and has attracted the cream of men and ladies’ basketball from the Southern Zone Basketball League (Sozobal) Central Region Basketball League (Cezobal) and Northern Region Basketball League (Nozobal).

National champions Bricks and Magang’a, who are representing Sozobal, will look up to their tramp cards—shooting guard Victor Jere and veteran point guard Hope Chisamanga respectively.

Chisamanga, who doubles as coach for the Zomba-based Magang’a, said they are looking forward to an exciting tournament.

“The tournament has created so much hype and we are looking forward to it. Special thanks to the sponsors who are trying their best to revive the game,” he said.

The host zone, Cezobal is featuring four teams namely champions Cougars, Mimbulu, Trojans and Brave Hearts.

Cougers will bank their hopes on their evergreen shooting guard Limbani Yatina, Mimbulu have Bernard Banda while Brave Hearts, who lead Pool B in Cezobal, will look up to their captain and point guard Brian Kumwenda where as Nozobal’s representatives Nkhulande will look up to their point guard Sam Nyirenda for inspiration.

The tournament also includes the ladies’ section and the player to watch will be Angels’ point guard Takondwa Lwazi.

The tournament will be played over two weeks and Basketball Association of Malawi (Basmal) general secretary Edgar Ng’ong’ola expressed gratitude to the sponsor Griffin Kalua for his passion for the sport which has seen him sponsor tournaments and teams alike, culminating in the King and Queen of the Court event. n