The NBL has now reached the semifinal stage, where four men’s teams and four women’s teams are battling for a spot in the finals scheduled for Saturday at Chinangali Court in Dodoma.
Dar es Salaam. A total of Sh91 million has so far been paid to various basketball players whose teams are competing in the National Basketball League (NBL), through the Locker Room Bonus (LRB) initiative by sports betting brand betPawa.
The NBL has now reached the semifinal stage, where four men’s teams and four women’s teams are battling for a spot in the finals scheduled for Saturday at Chinangali Court in Dodoma.
The men’s semifinalists are defending champions Dar City, Dodoma Spurs, Kisasa Heroes, and UDSM Outsiders, while in the women’s category the teams are Fox Divas, Vijana Queens, Don Bosco Lioness, and Orkeeswa.
All these teams have already secured qualification for the 2026 National Basketball League season.
East Africa Marketing Coordinator for betPawa, Nassoro Mungaya, said the money has been paid to players whose teams won their group-stage matches.
Mungaya said betPawa is proud to be a major partner in developing basketball in the country and in directly empowering players, coaches, and officials through the Locker Room Bonus.
He explained that this year’s tournament has been highly competitive due to the presence of the LRB incentive.
“Our brand has invested Sh317 million to sponsor this year’s tournament. Players have so far been paid Sh91 million. Payments are made directly to the players’ mobile phone numbers immediately after each match through the Locker Room Bonus, where each player earns Sh140,000,” said Mungaya.
He added that the initiative has boosted players’ morale, competitiveness, and overall professionalism in the tournament.
“We believe the competition will intensify even more in the semifinals and the final. It is clear that every player wants to get the LRB winning bonus,” Mungaya said.
For his part, the Secretary General of the Basketball Federation of Tanzania (TBF), Mwenze Kabinda, commended betPawa for improving players’ welfare and elevating the status of the NBL in the country.
Kabinda said the National League has now become highly attractive, drawing many young Tanzanians to the sport of basketball
