MyBasketball

Ladies: SA vs. Zimbabwe

The highly anticipated matchup between Zimbabwe and South Africa’s women’s teams lived up to its hype. In a game that was the fastest paced so far in the tournament, there was no clear favourite and both teams fought tooth and nail till the final buzzer. This game featured 3 lead changes and 5 times when the score was tied. Zimbabwe started off the game in a man to man defense, and South Africa countered that by running a high screen and roll offense. South Africa’s shots were not in the first 4 minutes of the game, and Zimbabwe got off to a running start, largely in part to 8 first quarter points by Helina Nyagato (8). But South Africa quickly rallied back when Gabisile Ndlangamandla (5) provided a much needed spark off the bench to finish the quarter tied at 15-15. The two teams continued to trade baskets and play stingy defense for much of the second period and the game was tied at 28-28 heading into half time.

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Ladies: Mozambique vs. Zambia

Day four of the tournament was a hoops-fest featuring two blowout wins and two very tightly contested games. Four games in total, so much basketball to discuss, let’s begin.  Mozambique women played Zambia in what can best be described as a David vs Goliath matchup. In a game where Mozambique had seven players scoring in double figures, and every one of the 12 players scoring, Zambia was overmatched in each and every category. Mozambique had a 55-24 rebounding advantage, grabbing more offensive rebounds (28) than Zambia’s total rebounds. They also record 29 thefts, as this fuelled their transition game. They gave out 34 assists while Zambia only recorded 10, they made 80% of their free throws, converted on about 51% of their field goal attempts and had a decent 29.7% success rate from beyond the arc. Zambia had 50 turnovers, which at this point is a tournament high. In summary, Mozambique torched Zambia for 42 points in the first quarter, which matched Zambia’s final point total. A lopsided victory goes to undefeated Mozambique as they took this one 123 – 42. Stat of the game: Annabel Costa (6) played in only 9 minutes 57 seconds and notched a game high 19 points, along with 2 assists and 2 rebounds.
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Neo Mothiba

THE sweet taste of victory for the South African senior men’s basketball team in their opening game against Zimbabwe brought along with it a bitter injury blow to team captain Neo Mothiba.

Mothiba landed awkwardly on his left foot in the second quarter during the host nation’s 70-61 victory over their cross-border neighbours in the Fiba Zone VI Games at the University of Pretoria’s indoor centre on Sunday and he did not take part in the team practice yesterday at the match venue. Team coach Flosh Ngwenya lamented the loss of his skipper, but was still confident that he enough material in his squad to do the business for the team in the competition, which serves as qualifier for the for the All Africa Games to held September in Mozambique and the Afrobasket competition to be held in the Ivory Coast. Read the rest of this entry →

Men: Mozambique vs. Malawi

In a demonstration of their offensive prowess and tenacious defense, Mozambique started the game on a 14-0 run and denied Malawi their first basket until there was 4:59 left in the first quarter. The Mozambican team connected on 3 three pointers early on and kept the fans on the edge of their seats with some thunderous dunks. Their blueprint for success was simple: play ferocious, in your face, smelling your breath kind of defense to ignite the transition game. And if the quick basket was not there, they exhibited fluid ball movement, looking for the shot they wanted, which more often than not was a three pointer in the corner. H Chisamanga (7) from Malawi tried to spark his team with two drives to the basket in the dying minutes of the first quarter. The first quarter ended with Mozambique comfortably leading 27-8. Read the rest of this entry →

Ladies: Zimbabwe vs Zambia

Abe Lemons, one of the most successful coaches in Oklahoma’s history once said – “There are really only two plays:  Romeo and Juliet, and put the darn ball in the basket.” The game between Zimbabwe and Zambia can be summarised in that statement. Zambia shot an ice cold 15.2% from the field as a team. You cannot win ball games if you do not convert on your attempts at the basket. Zimbabwean coach Ronald Garura started off with a line up of South African based players, who set the tempo early and went on a 20-2 run. Nothing seemed to be falling for Zambia early on as they finished the first quarter down 23-3. Read the rest of this entry →