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Botswana to host Mozambique in deciding Africa Basketball Championship qualifier

Xinhua, February 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Botswana men's senior basketball team are pumped up for the return leg of the 2015 Afro Basket and All Africa Games (AAG) qualifiers billed for Gaborone on Saturday night.

Botswana faces a mammoth task of overcoming a 61-40 loss to Mozambique in the first leg match played in Maputo on Feb. 14.

Botswana Basketball Association (BBA) Technical Director Mothusi Thipe told Xinhua on Thursday that the mood in the camp was very high as the team was determined to reverse the score and proceed to the next stage.

"We are in high spirits and have been working very hard, and we do not have any injuries," he said. Botswana needs to win the game by a margin of 21 points, which Thipe said is very much possible.

He said the technical team has been hard at work since returning from Mozambique a fortnight ago and they are confident of a big win at home.

The director said they have assembled a very talented young team that is capable of going very far.

The average age of the team is 24.

On Saturday, Botswana will be pinning their hopes on China-based point guard Karabo Geche Reinhard who plays college basketball in China. The team will however miss the services of much traveled Ofentse Churchill Barrows who has had stints in Zimbabwe, United States and Angola. He left the country on Wednesday to Malta where he will be playing professional basketball.

Botswana and Mozambique are battling out for a single spot available for the Southern region at the Afro Basket tournament that will be held in Cameroon. Swaziland pulled out of the qualifiers leaving the two countries to battle it out.

The winners of the Afro Basket will directly qualify for Rio 2016 Olympics.

Meanwhile, Botswana women basketball team is currently in Zimbabwe where they are battling it out against the hosts Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa for the women Afro Basket qualifiers. Endi