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Tanzanites earn praise despite Fiba AfroCan flop
Basketball players compete in the African Zone V (Fiba AfroCan) qualifier held recently at the National Indoor Stadium in Dar es Salaam, PHOTO | MICHAEL MATEMANGA
What you need to know:
- The Tanzanites did not record impressive results in the Zone V qualifiers after having managed to record a victory over Eritrea only
Dar es Salaam. The Tanzania Basketball Federation (TBF) has commended the efforts made by the national basketball team (The Tanzanites) in the just-ended Fiba AfroCan, despite failing to qualify for the African Championship in Angola next month.
The Tanzanites did not record impressive results in the Zone V qualifiers after having managed to record a victory over Eritrea only.
The team lost to Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan in the tournament, which reached its climax yesterday night.
Speaking with The Citizen yesterday, TBF president Michael Kadebe said the players made their efforts, but were not fruitful for the country to book space in the African Championships next month.
The Tanzanites started the competition with a bang after recording a 69-34 win over Eritrea before being defeated 77-57 by Rwanda, later losing 77-63 to Burundi, and finally suffering a 56-46 defeat by South Sudan.
"It is not an impressive result, but if you analyse all the matches, our players made efforts that aimed to record victories. They were dominated by opposition teams. This is a lesson to our players and coaches that they need to improve their playing standards. However, you cannot achieve your goal without investing technically.
“TBF intends to improve the game’s standard so that we can compete and secure chances that will enable our team to compete internationally," said Kadebe.
According to Kadebe, their body will continue to host international competitions in the coming years despite the recent results.
"What happened did not water down our efforts in the development of the game. I believe TBF officials and basketball coaches in the country have spotted the shortfalls to be rectified so that we have a strong team in the next few years," he said.
The event saw Rwanda and Burundi qualify for the finals to be held in Angola from July 8 to 16.
The Fiba AfroCan is a men's basketball continental competition in Africa that is played biennially under the auspices of the FIBA (International Basketball Federation).
Unlike AfroBasket, AfroCan is only open to all players who play for basketball clubs based in Africa.
