Basketball in World Champ qualifiers

Botswana Basketball was well represented at the just ended Under 23 3X3 Nations League (South Conference), which was held in Nairobi, Kenya.

A week long's tournament comes at an opportune time when local sporting codes are back on the field after the long battle against Covid-19. Technical Director at Botswana Basketball Association (BBA), Shaloh Matsetse tells

BG Sport that the event was a qualifying tournament for U23 3x3 World Championship to be held in Romania.

He shares that two teams, consisting of the ladies team and men's team represented the country. Matsetse notes that, of the five out of six countries, Equatorial Guinea pulled out. He also adds that they expect a similar event to be held on a date to be announced.

This, he says, brings light to the Botswana Basketball Association as it means the players get an international exposure. 'Similar event U23 3X3 Nations League (North Conference) will be held in Cairo, Egypt soon and we expect our local teams to participate again,' he says. Matsetse further notes that, similar events have been taking place in Asia and Europe and so they cannot overlook the benefits they get as BBA.

'Benefits of taking part in such a tournament is that it's a huge challenge for both our players and technical coaches as we have the chance to compete and experience different styles of basketball and the tactical prowess of different national teams,' he says.

'We have really learnt a lot and I believe our players are now more mature and hopefully will be able to share their experiences with the rest of the players in the country,' adds Matsetse. He reiterated that as they look forward to being recognized internationally as BBA, they are certain that from such tournaments, they will be able to produce international players of note.