Moorosi Tsiane
BLOEMFONTEIN Alumni successfully defended its Winter Money Tournament title cruising to a 61-40 win over local giants KTA All Stars on Sunday.
The two-day tournament, which started on Saturday and ended on Sunday at Lehakoe Recreational and Cultural Centre, saw Lichocha Shooting Rifles (LSR) edging Rovers 19-17 in the females’ final.
The winners in the male category pocketed M1500 plus a trophy while the females’ champions bagged M1000 and a trophy.
The tournament featured nine male teams namely KTA ALLSTARS, TORNADO 98ers, Lerotholi Polytechnic, Roma Wolves, Bashana Ba Heso, Bloemfontein Alumni, Bokamoso North Bad Boys and Lialuma. In the females’ category the participants were Lerotholi Polytechnic, Lichocha Shooting Rifles, Tornado 98ers, Rovers and Bokamoso Sharks.
Lesotho Basketball Association (LBA) public relations officer Hopolang Hoala said the tournament, which made its return after faltering last year, was a huge success.
“The tournament was a success especially because it was making its return after some technical challenges last year,” Hoala said.
“Bloemfontein Alumni and LSR were crowned champions in the male and female categories respectively and the level of competition is promising given that it has been long since we played any competitive matches.”
Hoala said all the teams gave out their best performances adding that the games were tough.
“The level of competition was high, especially in the male category where the defending champions were from South Africa and successfully defended their title.
“They proved that they are a step ahead of us but I think our teams gave their best. Since it was off-season, fitness levels were relatively low but we are happy that they took home some lessons from the tournament and will be much improved sides when the season starts,” Hoala said.
