Hlope: Basketball will be seen with a different eye

HOSTING a sports tournament is not an easy task. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to ensure that every detail is perfect. For Andile Hlophe and his Jozi Nuggets team, the successful hosting of the FIBA Basketball Africa League (BAL) qualifying tournament held in Johannesburg was like summiting Mount Everest.

Hlophe, who is the founder, owner and coach of the Nuggets, was thrown a hospital pass when he was informed at short-notice by Basketball South Africa (BSA), that hosting the BAL qualifying phase for Southern African teams fell squarely on his team. This kind of news would have sunken the faint of heart, but being involved in basketball as long as he has and knowing what is at stake, Hlophe and the Nuggets bit the bullet.

For their Group E qualifying phase of the tournament, the Nuggets welcomed five of Southern Africa’s best teams, Ferroviario de Maputo (Mozambique), UNZA Pacers (Zambia), Mercenaries (Zimbabwe), Lions (Namibia) and Dolphins (Botswana) at the Wembley Stadium.

“Yoh! Hosting has been painful. Very painful in the sense that we were told that we are hosting on the 15^th of October for an event that starts on the 22^nd of October. The federation (BSA) accepted the bid on our behalf, but they did not tell us who would handle the tournament costs. We got the shock of our lives when we were told on the 20^th of October that we were supposed to pay for everything,” said an exhausted Hlophe at the Wembley Stadium on Sunday evening. He elaborated on what the Nuggets’ financial responsibilities were for the tournament. “We were supposed to pay for the accommodation of the officials, we were supposed pay for medical services, the security and table officials. Yeah! It was a mess.”

 

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Having to wear the hats, he wore during the tournament, Hlophe should have passed out, but instead he took the situation in his stride.

“Our team is amateur. We don’t have any corporate backing. Everything comes from my pocket and the players. It’s been tough, but the last game has been played, no lights went off and no referees went on strike,” said Hlophe.

Asked why the information was not given out timeously, Hlophe attributed that turn of events to the slack attitude of South Africa’s basketball governing body.

“It was carelessness. When you are bidding to host a tournament. You need to have your ducks in a row. You need to be told that ‘this is what is expected of you’,” said Hlophe. “Everybody said it is cheaper to travel than to host, which is true. Let’s say if the games were in Maputo, we would have spent maybe R 60 000 to go there and comeback. Now we had to spend more than R 200 000 to host.”

While hosting the FIBA tournament put a financial strain on his club’s coffers, Hlophe who hails from Kanyamazne in Mpumlanga, believes the sacrifice is worth it for the Jozi Nuggets brand. The qualifiers will also raise the profile of basketball in South Africa, a sport that has struggled for decades to gain a foothold.

“Basketball will be seen in a different eye in South Africa and we will be looked at as a club that competed in continental competition. Not many clubs can say they have competed in continental competition in South Africa,” said Hlophe, who believes his team’s new found profile could attract new partnerships. “A potential partner would be the Gauteng Lions (rugby franchise). It would not be a surprise for them to own basketball club. They own the Ellis Park Arena, so if we team up with Gauteng Lions, we will have access to the venue for basketball.

On the court, while the results were not pleasing for the Nuggets, who suffered four losses and gained a victory over Dolphins to finish fifth in Group E, which was eventually won by Ferroviario. The Mozambican team and UNZA will proceed to the next phase of qualification. Despite the disappointing results, Hlophe is of the opinion that the young players his team recruited for the tournament will benefit in the future.

“I think the youngsters we brought in learnt a lot and this opportunity gave them a chance to showcase their skills. When was the last time you heard of an under-20 player in South Africa competing in an international competition? The last time was 2016. Some of these kids are 20 years old, so we gave them an opportunity to be seen, so that their status can rise in the world of basketball,” concluded Hlophe.