RU four make EC team
Four Rhodes University Basketball Club Titans female players have been selected to play for the Eastern Cape University Sport South Africa (USSA) women's basketball team. The players are Katlego Mphahlele, 20, Nomonde Simelane, 18, Yolanda RB Samboko, 20 and Liziwe Sodwele, 19. Rhodes Titan’s coach Xolisa Kula was also selected as head coach of the side.
Together, the five are excited and ready to put in the hard training.
The four players are currently working towards the upcoming Wit’s women’s basketball tournament in which the Eastern Cape team will participate in August.
It had been a rough start to the year for Rhodes Titans female basketball team, as the team had lost their first two games in the University Sport South Africa (USSA) league game, meaning that the team will unfortunately not play in this year’s USSA league. After having been knocked out from the USSA league the team and coach continues training for the Port Elizabeth basketball league.
Soon after having lost their second game against NMMU and being knocked out of USSA, the Rhodes Titans female team participated in the Eastern Cape trials where not only one but four of their players had been selected along with players from the Border and Eastern Province universities, to represent the Eastern Cape side.
Coach Kula said the girls who made the provincial team deserved it and would get an opportunity to play in a bigger and more com- petitive league, adding that the Wits Woman’s Basketball Tournament is among best woman’s basketball tournaments in South Africa.
Kula said the Rhodes players would train with the rest of the provincial team at least twice a month, over and above playing for their respective university teams.
He added that the four players “have tons of potential and that the biggest challenge is getting them to believe that they can actually do it (play well in the provincial team)”.
Katlego Mphahlele admitted that making the provincial team “has not yet sunk in” and spoke of her passion for sports and how could not wait to train with the provincial team, adding that the experience would be invaluable.
“I practiced hard (and was) mentally focused at practice sessions as well as games,” said team-mate Simelane. “The day of the trial was a mental game, but the team played well and I am happy I will not be the only Rhodes player on the provincial team.”
Samboko said she too was excited to train with the side and felt she deserved a spot on the provincial team because of the extra practice hours she had put in.
The four players plan to play with Rhodes Titans basketball in the ongoing PE Basketball League while training with the Eastern Cape players as they wait for August tournament.
Their next league match takes place on Saturday against University Fort Hare Tigers B side in an away game.