Group C coaches have their say ahead of battle for Elite 16 spots

 

 

DAR ES SALAAM (Tanzania) Group C of the 2022 Road To BAL qualifiers gets underway on Friday at the Benjamin Mkapa Indoor Stadium.

Hosts Army Basketball Club, along with City Oilers (Uganda), Urunani (Burundi), and Matero Magic, will fight it out for spots in the Elite 16, which take place in November in South Africa and Cote d'Ivoire.

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FIBA.basketball shares insights of the coaches ahead of the qualifiers.

Haleluya Kavalambi (Army Basketball Club)

Kavalambi was in positive spirits at the media day for the clubs on Wednesday. He says the military club will be ready for the tournament on Friday.

"We want to do well and have prepared ourselves thoroughly for this competition. We had a few injuries, but those players have recovered. So, on Friday, all the players will be ready play," said Kavalambi.

The Army Basketball Club coach also addressed the issue of not having import players in the team.

"My team is experienced because we have players who played at this level before. We did not come here to lose, we have chosen the players that we can better represent the team," said Kavalambi.

Mandy Juruni (City Oilers)

The Oilers coach says his team is more determined this year to reach their BAL goals. Juruni says the Ugandan club has put aside their past disappointments and are now focused on making the most of their chance here in Tanzania. The Oilers have not had the best of times in the Road to BAL qualifiers having lost out in the third-place playoff in the first edition of the Elite 16 in 2019.

They were also unlucky not to travel to South Africa in 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are excited to be here. It has been one of our goals to play international basketball, so this is a good feeling for the club," said Juruni.

"For us as a team, especially last year, it was heartbreaking. We did not have the chance to travel (to South Africa). We have another opportunity to play and qualify. That is why at home we compete for championships so that we can play in tournaments like these," Juruni pointed out.

Aaron Kagabo (Uranani)

Burundian club are a team laden with talent. Kagabo feels the atmosphere within the team has been good ahead of the qualifiers and feels the signing of former Ferroviario De Maputo teammates, Adjehi Baru of the Ivory Coast and Alvaro Calvo Masa of Spain will improve the team's fortunes in Tanzania.

"Having experienced players like Baru and Masa helps our team and it has improved the spirit within the club. They have experience having played at previous BAL tournaments and various levels in the game. They add to the quality of the team and they will help us reach our objectives. Our target right now is to reach the Elite 16 in South Africa and we have a good group of players to help us achieve that goal," said team coach Aaron Kagabo.

*At the time of publishing Zambia's Matero Magic had not arrived in Tanzania.

FIBA