UJ crowned kings of the court
BRAAMFONTEIN – UJ overturns their five-point deficit within five minutes to win the title.
UJ has beaten UP and been crowned as the champions of university basketball.
2019 will be remembered as the year the Orange Army confirmed their dominant status. After winning the University Sport South Africa (USSA) title in the middle of the year, they now celebrate winning the Varsity Basketball title. The University of Johannesburg (UJ) produced a relentless surge in the last quarter to defeat University of Pretoria (UP) 64–57 in the final hosted at Wits University.
With UJ down by five points in the last five minutes, the boys in orange were able to tie the game, lead and ultimately win. UJ coach, Mandla Ngema, shared his relief once his team had secured the win and title. “It is always difficult to play as favourites because there is a lot of pressure on us and we also put pressure on ourselves but for the guys to pull it through in the end when we were behind for most of the match is a great feeling.”
UJ star Lance Lance Chikore was voted the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and said winning the title meant they had achieved a dream, “I’m so happy because we have been working towards this the whole year and I am very proud of my teammates and what they have put into their games.”
Captain Trystan Speck summed up the team’s emotions following their victory, “I really have no words for what I’m feeling at the moment. The team has worked really hard throughout the year and this second week of Varsity Basketball was tough, but we managed to come through.”
He went on to congratulate the team from Pretoria for making it to the final and giving them a challenge. Speck and the UJ team also extended a massive thank you to all their fans for their fantastic support throughout their year of competition.
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