BASKETBALL Archives - The African Mirror

Oct

03

2023

2023 Royal Bafokeng Jr. NBA finals conclude in North West

BASKETBALL

THOUSANDS of Bafokeng youth gathered at Royal Marang in Phokeng, North West on Saturday, September 30, to cap off a week-long celebration of the 11th Jr. NBA basketball season as six boys and girls teams won their championship games in the 2023 Royal Bafokeng Jr. NBA Finals. Lebone Primary School U14 (Girls) Bonwakgogo Primary School U14 (Boys), HF Tlou Secondary School U16 (Girls), Tshukudu Secondary School U16 (Boys), Kitsong School U18 (Girls) and Lebone II College U18 (Boys) were crowned the 2023 Royal Bafokeng Jr. NBA champions in their respective primary school and secondary school age categories. The final day…

Sep

25

2023

By The African Mirror

African Basketball News: Senegal season wraps, South Sudan ranked top in Africa and Mills heads to Central Africa

BASKETBALL

WITH the Road to BAL qualifier fixtures recently released, the conversation moves to transfers - including technical teams and players. One notable move is the appointment of trailblazing Australian basketball coach, Liz Mills, to lead Central African Republic’s Bangui Sporting Club. Mills, who has worked with African men’s basketball for many years, including a stint with Ivory Coast’s ABC Fighters, who she led to the 2023 BAL quarterfinals, expressed her excitement at the new challenge. “It’s all about creating the right environment to be successful and I think that starts at the top…creating an honest, trustworthy, and transparent environment, that’s…

May

25

2023

By SILALEI SHANI, BIRD STORY AGENCY

The stage is set for Africa’s biggest basketball event of the year: BAL playoffs in Kigali

BASKETBALL

THE Basketball Africa League’s Nile Conference which took place between April 26 and May 6 at the Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in Cairo ended with Petro de Luanda defeating Al Ahly in a game that went to the wire; Gerson Goncalves scored a buzzer-beating tip-in to win the Nile Conference for his team, 91-90. The win will see the Angola team enter the playoffs in Kigali as the league favourites, after finishing third and then second in the previous two editions of the competition. Angolan Carlos Morais was a standout player during the tournament and continued to set an exemplary…

May

04

2023

By The African Mirror

Embid become the 2nd African to win NBA MVP Award

BASKETBALL

PHILADELPHIA 76ers centre Joel Embiid has won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award for the first time, the league announced. Embiid was chosen over Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic, to whom he lost the award in the past two seasons, and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won back-to-back awards in 2019 and 2020. The Cameroonian big man received 73 first-place votes from a panel of 100 broadcasters and journalists, marking the fifth consecutive win for an international player. The 29-year-old is only the second African player to become MVP after Nigerian-American Hakeem Olajuwon from the Houston Rockets in the…

Apr

25

2023

By SILALEI SHANI, BIRD STORY AGENCY

West African players dominate the international basketball scene

BASKETBALL

AFTER a head-turning performance at the Sahara Conference edition of the Basketball African League qualifiers, Central African Republic (CAR) prodigy, Thierry Serge Darlan, has made his mark once again with a selection to the Nike Hoop Summit World team. The 24th edition of the annual event brings together the top international athletes who are 19 and younger, to face the top American high school seniors and Darlan received high praise from CAR basketball federation president, Aime Serge Singha-Bengba. Thierry Darlan receives his jersey from the Nike Hoop Summit. Photo Courtesy: NBA Academy Africa “Thierry Serge Darlan is selected today. It…

Mar

23

2023

By The African Mirror

The NBA’s development league and South Sudan’s incredible feat; the latest in African basketball

BASKETBALL

SILALEI SHANI, BIRD STORY AGENCY WHEN NBA Academy Africa point guard Thierry Darlan recently revealed he would be joining the NBA developmental team G League Ignite, over a host of college offers, he finally put to rest concerns over his 2023 career plans. Despite scholarship offers from top basketball colleges like Arizona, Kansas, and Santa Clara and being NBA draft eligible this year, Darlan chose to go the route of the NBA development league. The league was previously named the NBA Development League, or D League until a Gatorade sponsorship, starting in the 2017-2018 season. "Many NCAA programs called me.…

Feb

23

2023

By The African Mirror

Afrobeats and the lure of Cape Town: Basketball’s spotlight on the continent returns

SPORT, BASKETBALL

SILALEI SHANI, BIRD STORY AGENCY THE early February announcement by Zaire Wade, the son of NBA Legend Dwayne Wade, that he had signed to play for the Basketball Africa League's (BAL) team, the Cape Town Tigers, in the 2023 season, has made waves in both basketball and sporting circles, across Africa. The 6'1 guard, who has been plying his trade with the NBA's G-League team, the Salt Lake City Stars, participated in the BAL Combine in Paris. The 2-day scouting event, which took place in January, drew 30 players from Africa, Europe, and the U.S., aspiring to play in Africa's…

Feb

16

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Get ready to ball: Basketball Africa League’s 3rd season is here

BASKETBALL

AFRICAN basketball fans are set to witness a fierce battle for the Basketball Africa League, or BAL, title after the unveiling of fixtures and game schedules for its 3rd season. The BAL, a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the NBA and featuring club teams from across Africa, has become a standout on the continent's basketball scene in just two seasons - and a hit with the sport's fans. “We are confident that fans and viewers will be treated to top-tier basketball that reflects the calibre of the talent we have on the continent,” noted Anibal Manave FIBA…

Nov

12

2022

By The African Mirror

Nets’ Irving is not anti-Semitic, says NBA Commissioner Silver

SPORT, BASKETBALL

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he met with Kyrie Irving earlier this week and that he did not believe the Brooklyn Nets guard was anti-Semitic, Yahoo Sports reported on Thursday. Irving was heavily criticized for promoting a film that the seven-time All-Star has since said contained "false anti-Semitic statements". The Nets suspended him for at least five games after he "refused to unequivocally say he has no anti-Semitic beliefs". Irving later apologized to those "hurt from the hateful remarks made in the documentary". "Based on what he said directly, to me (I) have no doubt that he's not anti-Semitic but…

Oct

19

2022

By SILALEI SHANI, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Women’s basketball beats records as African tournament calendar heats up

BASKETBALL

WOMEN’S basketball continues to draw in historic viewership across the globe, with the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Sydney confirmed as having had the highest attendance in the history of the competition with 145,519 fans attending throughout the competition. Mali was the only African country to represent the continent, qualifying after African champions Nigeria pulled out citing administrative difficulties around the sport in their country. Mali joined Group B alongside Australia, Canada, Serbia, France, and Japan. It was a dramatic outing for Mali, having lost all their games in the group stage and then having to deal with a…