Aspiring basketball players battled it out in the court for the Emakhazeni Basketball Invitation Cup on June 16.
Teams from Emgwenywa, formerly known as Waterval Boven, and Belfast showed off their basketball skills to develop the sport. The teams comprised of boys and girls.
Organiser and basketball professional coach, Sakhile Khunga said his passion for basketball led him to introduce the sport in township schools because the sport is more popular in independent schools.
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“I felt the need to engage the various schools around Emakhazeni. I saw a need for the sport because they have facilities, however, they were not utilised as they’re supposed to. Initially, the plan was to have basketball camps but Covid-19 regulations hindered the process. I then eventually decided to organise a game for youngsters to participate in and possibly love the sport. There are not a lot of schools around Emakhazeni so it is easy to establish relationships to start developing the sport,” he said. This was the first annual cup Khunga added. His long term plan is for each school to have its club and have a local tournament.
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“Some guys from Witbank who wanted to be part of this but that is not what we trying to do. For now, the focus is Emakhazeni and develop a championship there. Once that is done we then can expand to other parts of the province. I have a vision that requires me to start here and steer it in the right direction.” Khunga is a professional coach and player who plays for Jozi Nuggets. The club was founded in 1998 and was revived in 2008. The is one of the biggest basket basketball brands in South Africa.
