FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME
LOP does it again; together with Channel O, ESPN and Y.Fm! They held it down for the 5th year running at the Nelson Mandela Square on Saturday the 17th of May and crowds came in their masses to support the event. The All Star Game was a good watch as Mzanzi’s finest team which featured players like, ‘Captain my Captain’ Neo Mothiba, ‘Mr. December’ himself S’fiso Ncqobo, SA’s very own Vince Carter Fumani and the brother who’s been on the low for quiet some time; Tsakane Ngobeni were just some of the few players selected for the South African All Star Team. Moving up North, Africa’s All Star Team featured Teddy, Joe Loo and Egoli Magic’s very own Alaska; to mention a few selected to play for our brothers from the rest of Africa. The game started off at a very slow pace but after Fumani’s T-Mac dunk and a bit of show time from Randi; Mzanzi’s finest won the game 92-79.
After a show stopping performance from the two teams, it was time for the “celebrities” to show case their game. Channel O came head to head against Y.FM and both teams had quite a team list. Channel O featured Street Journal’s Siya Ngwekazi, ‘Crazy Boy’ Kabelo and Dj Milkshake. For Y.FM Loyiso Gola, Mo Moleme and Skwata Kamp’s Slikour were ballin it up. The game was entertaining to say the least… It’s all about fun and the love of the game, right? (…Hmmm).
KP Ndlovu held it down for Channel O but what a battle it was for Y.FM’s Tshepo Ditshego to guard him as KP was unstoppable. The Y team were down so badly in the 2nd quarter that they had to kit up LOP’s very own Cabby to push the score up a notch; not fazed this didn’t stop the O team as they won the game 33-29 and reclaimed their title after losing by a point to Y last year.
Big ups to LOP, Channel O and ESPN for such a great day! This is exactly what South Africa needed to put the game up on the map again after a hard battle at BSA’s head quarters. Let’s hope for more basketball and more support from Mzanzi masses.
Article written by Nthabiseng Mushi
Apparently after the event, police were called after complains about the crowd in the mall. Can someone please clarify this, as it is a major concern for us as the custodians of bball in Gauteng?
I don’t think the ‘custodians’ of basketball should concern themselves with events that happened after the ESPN event because I presume it was done in a private capacity so let the law take its course if need be.
People don’t hold the entire rugby/soccer community responsible for what happens in malls, bars etc…after a rugby/soccer game. The people organising events are responsible for what happens at the venue and cannot be held responsible for individual behaviour after the event. You are always going to get people doing stupid things after such events due to various reasons ( mainly alcohol..).
I was a spectator at the event and it was a great day for basketball, WELL DONE TO EVERYONE INVOLVED. BASKETBALL WAS THE WINNER ON THE DAY.
Here we go again….
Does the GBL have a database of players particiupating in the league. GBL is quick to hurl threats at other players for playing for teams while other teams use players from other teams to play matches. I play for Pretoria Heat, but because of unknown factors we have been waiting hear from the league whether we can play or not, it was disapointing when I heard one of the admistrators saying that its against league rules and you will never play for Heat.
I know the rules and believe me I abide by them always, but the same rules dont apply other members who are not known by the league but I know for a fact that they platying for two teams or have played for one team and now playing for another team.
Its like straight Algebra, what you do on the left you must do on the right. People are taking advantage of the loopholes in the system.
Tehe ESPN thing was very hott. The all star game was nice, in the celebrity game, KP and Tshepo’s battle on the court was fun to watch. Whats up Tshepo? correct me if im wrong but KP has’nt been playing for a while…
its good to hear that people were there in large numbers to watch bball. well,Joe is right to be concerned by police being called after the games as we are all concerned about crime and unruly behaviour in our society. the only problem is that since GBA doesn’t recognize LOP why should then they be concerned. aren’t you interfering in the wrong place now. if i may ask Joe, what is going to happend to players who played for the all-stars with regard to GBL.
Neo, as GBA we have notice the trend of players participating in both leagues and of players turning up for two teams. We have raised this with the League manager and will correct the oversight.
Guys, private or public any repercussion affects all basketball, therefore it does impact on GBA mandate. Currently, Menlyn does not want bball in the mall because of a similar event hosted there, if Sandton was also to ban bball, we are concerned that other malls may follow suit. Already sponsors are weary of bball because of other private persons who have muddied bball.
Again, in the South African context, the stuctures are ultimately accountable for any bball related event, thus we have the right to intervene as per our mandate.
if that is the case,surely GBA knew about this event in advance. what measures did you put in place to sensetize the organisers of the event about the impact any negative publicity will have on basketball in general as celebrities play for fun. surely then as GBA you should have been pro-active knowing the menlyn issue. addressing the issue now won’t solve anything as its already spilt milk. unless if i’m wrong.
Baller, the ESPN event has historically being hosted at Rosebank, which was appropriate to the targeted audience, and we had not had any negative feedback, hence our non-interference.
However, if and when the milk has been spilled, it is our responsibility to ensure that the floor is cleaned as someone might step on it and dirty the whole house.
i didn’t want to cause an argument here but i think you quoted the menlyn issue which i believe then that you should atleast have reminded the organisers. that should be done annually as a matter of protecting basketball and its image.
Joe, where can we access the GBL fixture cos most of the time we find out late about the games. if possible, can you atleast supply it to these website on a weekly basis. that would be very helpful.
Baller, I feel you on the Menlyn issue, in terms of the fixture our League manager will publish the full fixture by tomorrow.
Joe
Im hearing a lot of different stories surounding the GBL. As this is the launch, will it continue or will it go into recess. Is there any intentions of inviting any teams to participate or will it be kept as is?
At the moment the issue of what happened on Saturday is a normal one in sport. To me it sounded like some people wanted the event to fail so they can discredit the organizers.
That situation is remenisent of what is happening in the townships with our foreign brothers. The police is always one step behind the event,they are reactive instead of preampting the situation. If im a custodian of a particular org or code, I will make sure that all the things that need serious attention, i attend to them. What the next guy decides to do in the Sandton parking or mall let the police handle it. We all know our job discriptions lets not try and cause a storm in a tea cup it might spill in your face.
I believe in keepin order but I cant think for the next guy. You must go to SARS website and extract a document sent by Pta University explaining their way out of what happened at the Hatfield square after their match against UJ rugby. Its nnnot that you must deny everything but understand that there are some thing you cant control.
Taking cheap shots at people wont benefit nobody. I rest
Hey this is my first time on this website. It’s really good. Well done to Victor and team for putting it together. KP runs for Wits Alumni in the LOP. So we’ve been running together on that team. We both haven’t been playing for a while. But just as a correction, KP had a slow start. He only started balling properly in the 3rd & 4th Quarter. We were up by a large margin after the first quarter and were tied at half-time. I dropped a few threes on Channel O before they denied me the ball. In my opinion if they didn’t do that they would have lost by quite a few baskets. Big up to KP for holding it down and putting his team on his back. The refing was a bit suspect but hey if it happens in the NBA…. :). Peace out! Next year the title is ours. And we need SABC or Supersport to televise is live.