With The ESPN Celebrity Event happening this weekend in Tshwane at the Menlyn Shopping Center. The list of players taking part has been finalized.
Apr 27
Ashraf tournament 2010 low down
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Last week Wits University remembered one of its fallen heroes with the annual Ashraf tournament. For the first time in a long time the tournament was very well attended, maybe an indication that the basketball public and players are starving for some local action in Gauteng.
Some of the interesting clashes in the preliminary rounds of the tournament included the game between Wanderers Scorpions vs. Soweto Raptors (Ladies) and TUT Limpopo vs. UJ (Men). Scorpions looked like a totally revamped team that can now challenge some of their more renowned opponents and they beat Raptors by 4 points with Emma Ledwaba doing the business down the line. In the men section, TUT Limpopo almost upset UJ with a close encounter that could have gone either way. Notable mentions must go to Jerry for the entertainment he provided with his dunks over some of the UJ boys and the fact that his team was playing without a coach speaks volume for their dedication. Continue reading »
Jul 30
The Gauteng Basketball League is running on a relegation system and teams in the premier league are fighting for a spot in the playoffs. Egoli Magic is leading the pack; having played eight games with no losses and by the looks of things; they’re going to remain unbeaten for the 2009 GBL season.
This past Saturday Wits Alumni thought they didn’t need to bring their whole team to the game against Tuks; who are currently standing at seventh position on the log. Little did they know that The University of Pretoria is just as hungry as their soccer team and don’t want to get relegated. They came out fighting this past weekend.
After a short interview with Wits Alumni Captain Tshepo Ditshego last Sunday; some heavy comments were made, “The only way to move up is by playing and beating weak teams” this being said after winning against Pretoria Heat. Well, that didn’t really play out as planned… A five player’s team was not going to beat the student team from Pretoria, though the “bench playing” Alumni team gave Tuks a good run; Mfundo and Tshepo weren’t enough ammunition to beat the boys on their home turf. A 88-83 victory by Tuks; the first upset of the weekend. Continue reading »
Jul 22
The Gauteng Basketball League is back in action and teams are already fighting for a spot in the final four. Games officially started on the 18th of July; a very special day for Mzansi’s living legend former president, Tata Mandela… While some were doing their bit in serving their communities; others were at The Grace Bible Church in Soweto Pimville, getting ready for the season.
Wits Alumni vs. Pretoria Heat
On Sunday the 19th at Wits hall 29, the test to see which teams might make the final four was on! LOP champions, Wits Alumni, battled Pretoria Heat for the second time this season; in a quest to see if Heat’s first win was a fluke or not. It took a while for both teams to get the momentum going after jump ball, but soon after the three point shoot out between KP Ndlovu and Heat started; one could tell that both teams weren’t in good shape, especially with the number of turnovers by PTA Heat due to fatigue and then some… Was Neo Mothiba going to support his comments on facebook, “The Matrix is reloaded and ready to inflict some pain! Lawise tre complike!…” or was Alumni about to turn it up a notch?… Continue reading »
May 08
University of Johannesburg vs. University of Pretoria – Ladies Premier
This was a rematch of the USSA 2009 semi final that UJ won convincingly. This time there were a few added surprises to the game with Tuks recalling their veterans in Nicky de Villiers and Sibongile Maswanganye to their squad while UJ looked like they didn’t have a bench, or a recognized point guard.
With 3 minutes gone in the 1st quarter, the game was still scoreless. UJ were missing easy opportunities with Tuks playing some good defence. Tuks were playing as a team while UJ were relying on the enterprising play of Makgotso Moloantoa (UJ 4) who seemed to be doing everything on the day. Her best moves happened when she took the ball to the hoop. Strangely enough her other colleague, Lungile wasn’t shooting the ball well on this particular day and it affected the rest of her game. Continue reading »
Mar 25
GBL round up for some of the Premier games…
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Braam. Blues vs. Egoli (Men) – 19/03/2009
On Friday the 20th of March Bramfontein Blues met up with Egoli Magic after getting beaten by Wits Alumni the previous week. One would think after that kind of beating Blues would step it up a notch; showing other teams that they have a good team and they mean business… Boy did we get that wrong.
Both teams looked heavy on court but Egoli were the ones converting more baskets in the first half of the game. Lesego Molebatsi looked more solid in this game; averaging 2 for 3 from the field and playing proper defense this time around. S’fiso aka “Money”, a former University of Johannesburg and is now playing for the Blues; played hard from the get-go though his team didn’t have their head in the game.
In the second half of the game, Blues started playing harder; closing the 20 point difference down to 12 points. This lasted for five minutes before their fitness came into play and they gave up on the game, granting Egoli the “respect” that was due… Final score: Braam. Blues 59 – 92 Egoli Magic.
UJ vs. TUT (Ladies) – 22/03/2009
On Sunday the 22th The University of Johannesburg (UJ) ladies played their first premier game against Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). With some of their players missing on court, UJ certainly played sweet basketball, shutting down TUT’s offense in a way they weren’t expecting. The Tshwane team were struggling to score against the in your face pressure defense of UJ.
Kgaogelo “KG” Phiri, who definitely stood out, went home with an amazing 18 points to her name. This young player who has been with the team since she was in high school, had a good shooting day. Down at the low post Nosipho Njokweni held it down proper for UJ, not letting TUT’s post anywhere close to the hoop (heads up to Tumi the number 11 from TUT who really tried to bag a couple of baskets for her team). Final score UJ 85 – 9 TUT.
CUT vs. TUT (Men) – 22/03/2009
After the debate last year of whether or not Central University of Technology (CUT) would play in the premier division; this past weekend those questions were answered by the boys from the Free State. They showed a lot of heart and a lot of character on court and with their charismatic coach Kimathi on their benchi; they had the spirit to rally from 10 points down and win the game. CUT have the likes of Thuso playing for them which adds some experience to the young ambitious team.
Mar 20
GBL: Magic wand not so magical – 15/03/2009
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After last week’s season high of 33 points from Joseph Mazibuko, 29 points and 12 rebounds from Quintin Denyssen, Pretoria Heat shut down Egoli Magic’s key players, sending Quintin home with an upsetting 5 points to his name.
This mental battle got off to a mind boggling start where it was difficult to really pick up what was going on in the first two minutes of the game. Heats shots weren’t falling, but soon after the first time out was called by Victor Fouda; Gideon from Pretoria Heat made the opening basket. That’s when they started shutting down Egoli making the game a one point game.
“We knew if we shut the key players down in the first half of the game it would give us a bit of an advantage”, said SA captain Neo Mothiba who runs with Heat. Valter, a new lad playing for Heat, is someone to look out for this season; rocking the same ‘sneakers’ his old man wore playing pro in Mozambique. Not forgetting Shane Bamuza who held it down for PTA Heat, giving Joseph Mazibuko a good run for his money all night.
Pretoria Heat started slaking a bit once Neo sat bench; leaving Quintin unmarked and allowing him to capitalize. Yep this was the first time Mr. Denyssen put something up on the score sheet and while all eyes were on Quentin, Mr. December (Sifiso) led his team to victory with 2 crucial free throws after a foul on the half way line.
