Remembering the ultimate Viking, Neo Fanampe
IN the Montana Vikings biography dedicated to and honouring the late Neo Trevor Fanampe, he is remembered for often saying, “We got this” whenever the teams he played for needed a boost. His teammates will never hear Fanampe speak these words again, but hopefully, they will carry them in remembrance of him.
The young guard, who passed away on 29 March, is remembered by Montana Vikings coach Craig Daniels for his love for basketball and the value he placed on his education. His teammate Stephen Gabriel recalls Fanampe as a man of quiet confidence.
Veteran coach and FIBA coach instructor Daniels, who saw Fanampe grow in basketball from primary school, described him as the ultimate Viking.
“This was like a comeback year for the Vikings. We have Lutho Skweyiya. He’s back home with the Vikings. Trevor had also come back home,” said Daniels, a former Senior Women’s national team coach. “He was part of a group of players that had played together at Montevideo Primary School. Of course, they grew up and went their separate ways, joining other institutions.
“This was the year they were coming back together. We had already played one game as a group. So, to have it stopped in this manner is quite a tragic loss for our club.”
Daniels says Fanampe embodied the high standards set by the club from his formative years in the youth setups up to the senior level.
“In our club, we regard Neo as the ultimate Viking. We have a challenging life skills development program in our club. As juniors come through the ranks, expectations of them within the development program are quite high. We don’t expect them (juniors) to be successful with it every day – that would be impossible, but we want them to develop an attitude of trying to improve every day,” said Daniels. “Neo walked that walk. He went through all the junior age groups until U18 and played in the men’s division team. His transitions through the team were successful, and he was a champion at U18, Division One and Super League level.
“To have that and the commitment to our life skills program and see it all come together in a young man makes him the ultimate Viking.”
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Daniels remembers Fanampe as a committed student-athlete. While turning around the fortunes of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) from a USSA Division B team to earning them promotion to Division A, he never took his eye off the ball with his studies. Before his untimely passing, Fanampe had obtained his Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration, which his sister, Dineo received on his behalf at the graduation ceremony on Tuesday.
“The thing with Neo is people saw his success on the court. They don’t realise how successful he was off the court,” said Daniels. “At UWC, he spent 11 months there and during that time, he took them from a third-place Division B team to winning a championship and qualifying for Division A.
“In those 11 months at UWC he excelled in basketball, but if you asked him what he was proud of the most – he’d tell you he was looking forward to graduating. He was supposed to graduate now. He was driven in other areas as well. That is why the basketball part also worked… Because of the balance in his life.”
Former South African national team player Stephen Gabriel remembers Fanampe, a fellow Viking and teammate at the BNL franchise, the Western Cape Mountaineers, as a player willing to learn.
“He always came to every situation with his cup empty. Very humble, always willing to learn and open to advice,” said Gabriel. “When he joined the Mountaineers about three seasons ago, as a youngster in the team, he (Neo) never felt out of place. He never felt like it was a moment too big for him. He blended into the team seamlessly.”
As a person, Gabriel described Fanampe as easy-going and someone with a positive outlook.
“If you knew Neo, he always approached everything (he did) with quiet confidence. He was always happy, smiling and someone who always had something good to say,” said Gabriel. “Even though we have lost someone impactful, we will remember him for who he was and what he stood for. We will honour him every day on and off the court.”
Fanampe’s life was cut short, but his legacy remains powerful. He exemplified the rewards of dedication and discipline in pursuing one’s craft. Though he wasn’t the loudest voice on the court, his quiet confidence and steady presence spoke volumes. His simple words – “We got this” – became a source of inspiration for both UWC and the Montana Vikings. May those words reverberate and find resonance with everyone he touched.
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