BBA confident of Under-20 side

NELSON DIRENG
Correspondent | Thursday December 9, 2010 00:00

This is despite the fact that the team lost all its friendly matches it played in Zimbabwe last weekend. The team leaves for Swaziland today. Of the 12-member squad, six were part of the team that travelled to Zimbabwe.

'These are the players we expect to spearhead the team as they have loads of experience,' said BBA technical director, Mothusi Thipe. The six who were in Zimbabwe are captain Robert Mosalakatane, Patrick Mokgethi, Churchill Barrows, Thando Mawela, Senatla Kabomo and Emmanuel Tjizoo. Mosalakatane was one of the top scorers in Zimbabwe, netting 16 times against the hosts' senior team and 14 times against the Under-20 side. 

Thipe said the Botswana Under-20 team went into camp with 14 players and two have been axed. 'There was a total of 14 players in camp but only 12 would be travelling to Swaziland,' he said. He explained that they took 14 players to camp to encourage healthy competition.

Other countries expected to participate in the SCSA tournament are Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, hosts Swaziland, South Africa, Namibia, Malawi and African powerhouse, Angola.  Meanwhile, the senior national team lost to Zimbabwe over the weekend. The senior team went down 68-80 while the Under-20 team lost by a close 64-62.

Thipe said despite the scores, both teams performed extremely well considering their late arrival in Harare. He said that the team experienced problems at the border as two of their officials were denied access into Zimbabwe because of visas. 'We then had to call the Zimbabwean Basketball Association to intervene and only then did they allow them through,' he said. Thipe said the teams, which left on Thursday evening arrived in Harare on Saturday morning. He said their first game was scheduled for 10am, just five hours after their arrival. He said the Botswana teams were unable to perform to their best level because of fatigue and lack of practice. The senior team will remain in camp during the festive season in preparation for the 2011 Africa Basketball Championship qualifiers in Johannesburg, South Africa in January.