He said this during Vodacom Wheelchair Basketball Challenge final game between North West and North Gauteng, whereby the West won by 66 points and Gauteng only managed 34 points. The final game was held at the Vodadome in Midrand.
Before the ‘real’ game however, there was a celebrity match between a host of celebrity sportsmen and the professional wheelchair basketball players.
Although Spies could not get in on the action on 3 October, due to an injury, he gathered from his teammates that professional basketball players are a difficult lot to beat.
“As a supporter, and a fellow teammate, I gathered it was tough. There’s a lot we have in common as athletes, but it was still tough for the guys, ” he said, speaking for his Blue Bulls teammates Arno Botha and Ryan Nell.
Rugby was not the only popular sport represented though. Soccer legends, Mark Fish, Lucas Radebe, Jerry Sikhosana and Brian Baloyi were present and participated in the celebrity match.
Jerry Skhosana said, “This was my first experience pushing myself in a wheelchair. The wheelchair themselves were easy to move around, but you have to be in shape in terms of your upper body.”
Vodacom’s executive head of sponsorship and regional marketing, Bronson Mokabela said, “The type of impact that Vodacom has by making the sport competitive is amazing. The vision is to prepare the guys for big competitions such as the paralympic games.” The cellphone network company awarded a R100 000 cheque to the winning team.
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