22 May 2006

BOTTSWANA : Basketball Novices Seek to Make a Mark

New boys Flames basketball club seem undaunted by the mammoth task facing them to make a mark in the local game. The outfit formed last October had a baptism of fire in their first league match at the hands of Police Academy at the weekend. Despite the 80-61 drubbing by Police Academy, founder chairman Marvin Griffith said they are poised to take the local basketball scene by storm. "This is our first time in the league and we definitely hope for the championship, though we use mostly new players," he said.

However, they face a tough task again this weekend in games when they make the long trip to Gaborone to face Dolphins and Troopers. Besides the distance, Flames face a major test of wits in the weekend games especially against Troopers, one of the best sides in the country. But vice chairman and player coach Matt Loewen of England said they are looking forward to beat their weekend rivals. "We are going to give them a run for their money," vowed the hopeful Loewen.

Flames was formed after a split in the soldier-dominated Spl-inters club. It currently has 12 players mainly foreigners living in Botswana. The club has made temporary arrangements to train at the Mater Spei College. Griffith said that though they have split from Splinters, there were no hard feelings between the two sides. "Splinters is full of soldiers and we struggled to get to the first team and this was not easy," Griffith said.He added that Francistown is rich in basketball talent and it is possible to have more than two teams in the city. The formation of Flames increased the number of basketball teams in Botswana to 16. So far Francistown has only two teams. Griffith said that in the near future, they intend to introduce a women side.

Like all basketball sides, Flames is facing financial constraints. Scores of players interviewed by Mmegi Sport said they spend their money to finance the club because they do not have a sponsor. Loewen said the boys are keen play basketball and since he joined the club, they have shown a lot of commitment despite lack of finances and facilities. "We share the court with the school guys here but the school authorities do not allow us to practice after 7pm," said the worried Loewen. Flames has not yet completed the registration process with the Registrar of Societies. Loewen told Mmegi Sport that they have long applied but the process is unnecessarily delayed by the Registrar's office. They have been told that their file is lost but the office ha s been reluctant to accept another application. Both Griffith and Loewen lamented that the delay affects their negotiations with potential sponsors.

They said companies willing to sponsor them require proposals accompanied by certificate of registration. "We are trying to build a team here. Most of the players have not played competitive basketball but optimistically we would achieve good results," said one of the veteran players Moeti Dumbe. He is coaching Mater Spei College basketball team.

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