A team of four players has been selected to represent the country in Doha, Qatar, for the 2019 Association of National Olympic Committees (Anoc) World Beach Games.
Going as the first-ever basketball team, the players will wear their national colours.
The male 3×3 basketball team made their way to Qatar on Wednesday, 9 October. The games were officially opened by the emir of Qatar, sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The opening ceremony took place on Saturday, 12 October.
A chosen delegation of three has been selected from the Namibian Basketball Federation (NBF): Ramah Mumba, the NBF secretary general; Malakia Matias, NBF’s development officer and Sylvia Sawahenga, the NBF treasurer, have been assisting the boys with preparations prior to the games.
One of the players, Firmino Bonaventure Mael, said he was more than excited to be part of such history. “My team and I have received such great support from our chaperones and the Olympic committee as well as our families and community,” he said.
Tireemukuru Toromba said: “Being part of Team Namibia at such a worldwide platform is a huge honour and the team feels the same duty as myself: To properly represent the country on and off the court.”
Speaking on behalf of the delegating team, Sawahenga added: “As chaperones, we understand that our responsibility to be respectable representatives is just as important as that of the players. We wish to learn a thing or two attending these games so as to implement it upon our return into our own basketball and sporting culture”.
The Namibian National Olympic Committee (NNOC) has ensured the provision of all necessary equipment for the travelling team.
The games will take place over the course of about seven days with an expected number of 1 240 athletes from over 100 countries and 14 sports in 16 disciplines. The boys will be in a pool of 16 male teams, with 32 teams in total, including the female teams. The 3×3 games started on Sunday and conclude tomorrow.
These games are considered the number one urban team sport worldwide and have created a buzz within the Namibian basketball community. Statistically, the Namibian national team have performed better at 3×3 competitions than 5-on-5, hence the eagerness to see the results yielded from this competition.
– Namibia Basketball Federation
