UJ 3×3 basketball team head to finals in China
JOBURG – Basketball team set to compete in China.
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) 3×3 basketball team will be one of four African sides to compete in the World University League finals in Xiamen, China, from 21 to 23 October.
This comes after the men’s team won the Federation of Africa University Sports competition in Johannesburg earlier this year, defeating the Ugandan Makerere University team in the final.
UJ basketball manager, Anton van Rooyen said the team played in their first-ever 3×3 tournament at Makerere University in Uganda last December, finishing fifth overall.
The team members are Mpumelelo Mahlati, Skumbuzo Mthembu, Nqosa Lehloenya and Wade Hassett, and will be coached by Mandla Ngema.
Van Rooyen said this basketball format was played on a half court with three players in each team targeting one hoop. There is one substitute on each side.
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A game is played over a single period of 10 minutes and the winner is the first team to score 21 or the team with the highest score at the end.
Having only initiated the game at UJ last year, Van Rooyen said they were delighted to have qualified for the World University League finals.
“The players are excited and a bit nervous for what lies ahead as this is new ground for all of us. The defending champions are McGill University from Canada and we know that the American universities will be strong. We are aiming to give it our best shot and to be competitive.”
There will be four pools of four teams each in Xiamen, with the top two in each advancing to the quarter-finals.
“We are the first South African varsity to attend an event like this so it is a ground-breaking trip for others to follow,” said Van Rooyen.
“In preparation, we are doing a lot of gym work with a fitness trainer and we are playing games against our alumni who are much stronger than the students.”
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