Growing enthusiasm for women's basketball in Mauritius

PHOENIX (Mauritius) - A remarkable run at last year's FIBA U17 Skills Challenge has brought up new perspectives for training and development in Mauritius.

And it has given new ideas to Ivan Smiljanic, the technical director of the Mauritius Basket-Ball Federation (MBBF), who wants to see more girls involved in the game.

The success of the girls' side, which reached the Semi-Finals at the FIBA U17 Skills Challenge, has created a momentum where more girls are interested in playing competitive basketball.

Ivan Smiljanic

"I am very happy to see that more girls are keen to play [basketball]," says Smiljanic, speaking to FIBA.basketball.

In fact, just after the Skills Challenge, he set up the very first junior league on the island, which spanned over more than two months and saw seven teams compete for the title.

"What's even more satisfying is that every team presented a full roster of 12 players each. So that we now have a database of 84 new girls to feed the National Training Center," the Serbian coach said.

More and more girls are joining basketball camps in Mauritius 

The next step is to set up a structure where the girls will train and develop their skills. Out of the 84 players, he has selected some 25 of them to sign for the newly setup elite training center, where they train twice a week.

"The junior league has helped identify the most talented players. Now that they are training together, we will need other initiatives, like training camps and team building activities to create team spirit and solidarity. I want them to grow as a team," Smiljanic explained.

Factually, women's basketball suffers from a lack of players in Mauritius, but the enthusiasm Smiljanic met with convinced him to renew the experience this year.

Last year, the MBBF also held three tournaments for women.

"We saw much enthusiasm, and things are getting more and more interesting. This year, we are hoping to see more than 200 young players. Some might say this is too much. But we need quantity in order to have quality," says Smiljanic.

The Mauritius women's national team boasts no title nor award, except a bronze medal at the Indian Ocean Island Games in 2019.

That year, they nearly overcame one of their most ferocious opponents, Reunion Island. But while they forced the then-reigning champions to overtime, they sadly lost and went on to finish third. 

"They played very good basketball that day," remembers the Technical Director.

"But we lost in the extra time and it hurts. And no-one wants to live through the same kind of trauma again. This is why my goal is to set up a strong and competitive league for the girls, both at junior and senior level. So that they can build up experience through tough games and in the long run, it will bear its fruits."

Smiljanic has seen his wish come partly true when six teams -  instead of three - have signed up for the upcoming women's senior league.

"This is one of the first positive things I can see. Some junior players have joined the senior teams and they already are fully operational," he pointed out.

Smiljanic also admits to having visited secondary schools in order to have a bigger pool of players. "We have held some mini-tournaments, where the players experienced competitive basketball for the first time. They liked the competition, and some players have very interesting profiles that can feed the women's senior national team at a later stage."

The idea is not only to develop players skills, but also prepare the next coaches and referees. "We tend to forget about referees and table officials. They form an important part of the game and I want to make sure everyone finds their place in basketball," Smiljanic concludes.

FIBA