National Sports

Battle for basketball crown begins

 

The amazing dunks, silky dribbling and sharp shooting will, most assuredly, colour the men’s national basketball club championship which gets underway today at African Bible College court in Lilongwe.

Eight teams will take it to the court with one mission in mind; to win it. They are Nkhulande and Mzuzu Pistons from the Northern Region, Bravehearts, Cougars and Central Knights from the Central Region. The South is represented by Magang’a, Crazy Warriors and Bricks.

Bricks (in white) playing Magang’a

Though Bricks, Cougars and Crazy Warriors appear to be runaway favourites, there is a new kid on the block, Bravehearts, who, undoubtedly, has all the weaponry to upset tables.

It is the team of the moment; the talk of town after it won the Central Zone Basketball League (Cezobal) without testing defeat in its debut season last year.

“This team has done pretty well at regional level but our aim now will be to win the national title. It won’t be easy because all contestants are good teams,” Bravehearts coach Griffin Kalua says.

There is a lot of talk from the defending champions Bricks. They have had a difficult season having finished third in the Southern Zone Basketball League (Sozobal).

Their veteran player Victor Jere admitted facing competition to defend the title.

“Most teams have improved a lot that is why we failed to defend the Sozobal title. However, we have tried to improve the weak areas and we are ready to defend the national title,” he said.

Edgar Ng’ong’ola said Basketball Association of Malawi (Basmal) is anticipating a competitive tournament because all the teams played magnificently in their respective zones.

The basketball governing body did not organise the championship last year because it did not have funding.

On Wednesday, however, it received a major boost when GY Imports and Exports announced a K3 million sponsorship for the two day tournament that ends on Saturday. The champions will cart home K500 000. n

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