MONTANA Vikings clinched the Basketball South Africa (BSA) Women’s National Club Championship on Monday at the University of Cape Town (UCT) without taking to the court. Johannesburg’s MBB were unable to field a team for the hastily rescheduled match, resulting in a forfeit. The Cape Town-based club won by default (20-0).
The women’s final, originally set to take place on Sunday, was postponed to Monday after game officials went on strike over alleged non-payment. According to BSA Secretary General Sibongile Fondini, a resolution of the dispute was reached on Sunday night.
“All technical officials were paid in full last night, despite they [were] supposed to receive their payments at the conclusion of the entire competition on Monday, 22 September,” Fondini told The Big Tip Off.
“The final was then rescheduled back to Monday, which was its original date of play. MBB and Vikings were duly informed by the game commissioners of the reschedule following the swift resolution of the unfortunate protest by the technical officials.
Fondini continued: “Lastly, it is worth highlighting that we specifically outlined to all clubs that the competition dates are 19-22 September 2025 [and] departures on 22 & 23 September 2025.
“This means any delays and adjustments of the competition can only be accommodated across these competition dates – hence it was important for all participating clubs to be available throughout the competition dates – especially those who reached the final, as they must also be present at the closing ceremony.”
MBB were 5-0 before the final
Representatives from MBB were not immediately available for comment. However, given that they had been the most dominant side in the early stages of the women’s tournament, this is likely to be a bitter pill to swallow.
MBB had beaten the Montana Vikings 55-40 on Friday. The Blue Soldiers would follow that win up with another triumph over the Cape Town Sharks, 60-55. After convincing wins over Mbekweni Shaq Squad (85-35) and Port Alfred Hustlers (83-30), they would triumph again over the latter, 72-36, this time in the semi-finals.
View this post on Instagram
Vikings beat Mbekweni 60-29 on Friday and followed up with weekend wins over Port Alfred (73-37) and the Cape Town Sharks (73-59 in their first clash and then 68-49 in the semi-finals).
Given that basketball is not professional in South Africa, players often have to rely on alternative income to make ends meet. Given the situation, it’s understandable that the rescheduling of fixtures at short notice (late on Sunday) would create difficulties.
The men’s tournament continues at UCT, with MBB set to play Duep (KwaZulu-Natal) in the third-place playoff on Monday afternoon. The last fixture, the final of the club champs between KZN Marlins and Johannesburg Giants, will follow at 5 p.m.
Sign up for our monthly newsletter for all the latest feature stories and previews of events on the African continent.
Pity MBB didn’t play in that finals. Their 8 players and 2 assistant coaches were in the stands after missing their finals cheering their men’s team on.
If they were so dominant and confident of winning why did they not play their game?