Central Gauteng claimed victory over North West Province with a score of 61 – 47 at the Vodacom Wheelchair Basketball Challenge at the Mandeville Indoor Sports Centre on October 13.
The home team denied North West their third consecutive Vodacom Challenge title, securing the R100 000 in prize money.
This was the second year the top teams from their respective top-four national tournaments feature at the Vodacom Wheelchair Basketball Challenge.
Eastern Cape claimed a narrow 22 – 20 victory over Gauteng for the u-23 title, securing R50 000 in prize money.
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In the play-off for the women’s title, continuing their superb form from the season, the North West Bees claimed their second consecutive Vodacom Wheelchair Basketball Challenge after beating KwaZulu-Natal 38 – 12.
The North West Bees women’s champions were also awarded R50 000 for their efforts.
Throwing out the form book in the men’s championship game, from the outset Central Gauteng got a foothold on the match, leading the North West by 18 – 8 after the first quarter.
Winning the title for the first time since 2015, Central Gauteng had further extended their lead going into the half-time break with a 30 – 16 advantage.
North West launched a fightback, doubling their score in the third quarter, but by this point they were left with too much to do and saw Central Gauteng taking the spoils.
“Vodacom is proud to be associated with Wheelchair Basketball in South Africa and it is heart-warming to see how the sport has grown in stature and quality over the last 19 years of our involvement,” said Janus Kloppers, principle specialist for sponsorship at Vodacom.
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He said their involvement goes beyond sports sponsorship and instead they aim to give power to possibilities.
Wheelchair Basketball SA (WBSA) chief executive Charles Sanders said through their partnership with Vodacom they have been able to change the face of the sport.
“We have great sponsors. There are no doubts about that.
“Vodacom has brought us in line with able-bodied structure by providing us with a cash prize that is equivalent to what the men’s professional league is paying out,” said Sanders.
Over the years, Vodacom has invested in upgrades to the Mandeville Indoor Sports Centre and some much-needed equipment, including a mobile wheelchair basketball court, 12 customised wheelchairs, two mobile hoops and a trailer to transport the equipment to WBSA development programmes across South Africa.
