Cape Waves in red attacking Gugs Hustlers. Picture by Siyabonga Kalipa.
20 February 2015
The basketball courts at Gugulethu Sports Complex were busy on the weekend when basketball teams from around Cape Town took each other on to raise funds for Gugs Hustlers.
Hustlers have only been playing the game since last year, and it showed in the court as the Waves were dominant in all aspects of the game.Gugs Hustlers U16 lost to Cape Waves U16 from Nyanga by 14 points to 9.
Hustlers’ coach, Ndzuzo Manona, said, “It is our first time playing a competitive game as you can see. The Waves are more experienced than us and are well established. We are trying to bring basketball back to Gugulethu.”
Manona said, “My boys did their best and they look promising … In two years time we’ll be unstoppable. The community is supporting us.”
16-year-old Yanga Ndamoyi, the Hustlers’ captain, said, “It was a good game even though it was our first game as a team. We just need to work hard in order to compete with the best. I see myself playing in the NBA in the future, but I need to finish school first and work hard.”
Cape Waves were in a celebratory mood as they had won their game having displayed good basketball skills.
One of the team’s best players on the day, Siphosam Tsehlane, 15, said, “It wasn’t a hard game. It was easy for us to score while we made it difficult for them … we can beat them any day.”
Waves coach Dalixolo Didishe saw the game differently. “It was a tough game because the scores were very close. They really gave us a hard time. Their defence is good … they will do well … they just need support and encouragement.”
Didishe said, “I’m not entirely happy with the game, because my players could have done more.”
The reason for the tournament was to try and raise funds for the Hustlers so that they can buy kit for their team. Hustlers Chairman Bongani Hutamo said, “We saw how young kids were interested in the game. We then decided to have lower divisions in our team since we only had the senior teams. But we have financial constraints as you can see. Our team is the only one that doesn’t have a kit. Whatever we get from this tournament will go a long way in helping our team out.”
Hutamo said he was happy with the turnout as the community came to support them even though basketball is not a big sport in the township.
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