Bokamoso Dolphins, Trailblazers win big

MASERU – Bokamoso Dolphins and Bloemfontein’s Trailblazers were the big winners as the annual Winter Basketball Tournament made its long-awaited return last weekend.

The invitational basketball competition was last held in 2019 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and it returned to life at the Lehakoe Recreation Centre last Saturday and Sunday.

In total, almost 20 teams took part in the festivities and, when all was said and done, Bokamoso Dolphins were holding the women’s trophy while Trailblazers ran out winners in the men’s competition.

Dolphins were one of five sides fielded by the Bokamoso Basketball Programme which is headed by Faku Masupha and has been at the forefront of developing young players in Lesotho for the past decade.

In the women’s final, Dolphins came out victorious in a grudge match against Lerotholi Polyethnic and Masupha was full of praise for his young ladies’ team afterwards.

“I am pleased with the performance against a good team that gave us a run for their money,” Masupha said.

It was a high intensity women’s final and one reason Masupha pin-pointed was the fact Fokothi have several players in their side who came through Bokamoso’s ranks and have inside knowledge of Bokamoso’s fast paced style.

Amongst those Fokothi players from Bokamoso’s development structures was Selloane Mohale who Masupha complimented for combining well with her teammates.

Mohale and her teammates took a young Dolphins side by surprise in the opening stages.

“I think in the first half the players had anxiety. It was bad, the players couldn’t take instructions,” Masupha said.

“Fokothi have energy and they are one of the most supported teams in the league and most of their players have come through the Bokamoso development pipeline,” he said.

However, for an experimental and young team, Masupha could not have asked for a better response and the moment their combinations clicked, Dolphins dominated the second half and eventually claimed the victory.

Bokamoso are restructuring and integrating young players to refresh ahead of the new season.

Dolphins fielded many young players who are likely to form the core of the Bokamoso women’s team when the season starts.

“It’s a good team with a mix of experience and young players. We are restructuring to give it a bit of energy, the players we have are now young parents and can no longer cope with long hours,” Masupha said.

All in all, the Bokamoso programme had five teams competing in this year’s tournament – Sharks, Badboys, Rebels, Dolphins and Alumni. Three of them – Sharks, Badboys and Alumni – were knocked out in the group stages while Rebels fell one step before the men’s final when they lost by one point to KTA All Stars.

Masupha said his players showed character and winning a trophy from the weekend’s action is just the icing on the cake as Bokamoso head into the new basketball season.

“In a couple of months’ time I believe they will be competing for a championship,” Masupha said.

Tlalane Phahla