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SPRINGBOKS SQUELCH SENEGAL 87-68


Lebohang Mbata paced the RSA attack with 31 points and Montsho Mthebechipped in 17 to go with 13 rebounds and 8 assists to key a 87-68 triumph which in essence will lock up at worst a second place finish in the round robin competition. "the credit goes to the clubs, it is their guiding hands that are allowing this team to flourish." Coach lambini said afterwards.

Kefentse Solomons still continued to struggle going only 2-10 before leaving the game after a hard shot early in the second period. " I was hoping to get him back on track tonight, and was a little concerned when he got knocked out,but just like every other time he either has gotten nicked or run into foul trouble the team has come together to compensate for his absence. His shot is there, his performance for the good doctor in club matches bears that out, I am confident he will be there when we need him"

In other action

Egypt thumped Tunisia 69-47
and Nigeria moved one step closer to claiming 3rd by nudging Al-Jazair 89-85

Your weekly training update

Not a great week, but still some movement.

Kefentse Solomons: no pops this week and a lower DMI/GsmS but he's still doing fine. This week I will start him at the point to see how he reacts there.

Montsho Mthebe: had a ID pop, has the best DMI on the team this week and now matches Solomons on TSP, going to give him the start this week at the 3

Ketso Nthite: no pops but steady DMI, Iets see how he does at the 4.

Lebohang Mbata: a drop in DMI/GS is mildly concerning, but he did have a OD pop but this week I am going to use him off the bench splitting time at both forward positions, I anticipate he will get decent minutes and will solidly perform

Kasiya Mbazia: had a HA pop and very good DMI, his shooting is still not quite where it needs to be but I am going to move him to SG as his defense is still our best

Mpho Toyana: OD pop but GS/DMI us down, should still perform well off the bench

Fabian Pöll: a IS pop and a improved reset gets him back his starters roll

Krish Modise: reset numbers and no pops in the concerning but he will do fine off the bench

Jabulani Manzini: no pops but a improved reset, he will contribute

The rest of the roster remains what it is! This week we face Nigeria and I feel we are ready

SPRINGBOKS LAY SMACK DOWN ON NIGERIA 99-49


Montsho Mthebe led all scorers with 23 points, Kefentse Solomons showed signs of returning to form with 15 and Lebohang Mbata came off the bench for 10 more as nine Springbok players scored at least seven to lead a well balanced attack. " It was good to see Solomons come back to life after his recent struggles, and Mthbe has been in many ways our MVP so far." Coach Lambini said afterwards.

During the first three periods the stingy Springboks only gave up a total of 28 points. " The defense has made such huge strides since the start of the season" only a clearing of the bench allowed the over matched Nigerians to salvage something from the wreckage. Coach Lambini however was still left with concerns about the foul shotting fter another sub 50% performance from the line (15-31) "I've told the fans once if not a thousand times, don't blow those damn vuvuzelas when we are at the free throw line" Coach Quipped with a nod and a wink afterwards.


The win secures the second slot in the semi finals which by all accounts looks to be a rematch with these same Nigerians. In other action the spiraling Senegalese tumbled into the elimination zone following a 81-59 trouncing by Tunisia and Egypt did what Egypt does which this time was a 109-46 drubbing of Al-Jazair which puts whatever hopes those guys had of getting to the semis on life support.

SPRINGBOKS TURN BACK TUNISIA 85-68

In another well balanced effort Montsho Mthebe led four players in double figures with 15 as seven Springboks scored at least 8 as the RSA survived a sluggish first half to Sprint away with their 10th win in 11 games of the Afrobasket competition. "Solomons continues to mystify all of us (1-10, 0-6 from three, and another foul out) . Collectively though we have done a great job game in game out" Coach Lambini said afterwards. When asked about next week's meeting with a Egypt team prohibitively favored to take away top honors he said, " next week in reality is a non issue, sure I want to best those guys, and I think we can give them a run for their money. The reality is though everything far as we are concerned is set in stone. As a team we still have to strive to improve, the results will take care of themselves"

In other action

Egypt racked up another rout 92-49 over Nigeria

And Senegal saw their chances of making the semis improve dramatically after smothering Al-Jazair 94-66

Next week will see three games played in a seven day time frame. Hopefully two of those games will be against Egypt, the first one this Monday is truly a non issue as nothing will be settled by the outcome as there is 139 points between the two so even if we were to pull the upset it will not affect the seeding for the medal round. However this does not mean I will not seek to find a way to put a good honest effort together to see if it can be done, though this might be a spot where I think a little outside the box in terms of matchups and tactics just to see if I stumble across something. Then will be Nigeria on Friday followed by HOPEFULLY a match to settle it all which I can pretty much assume will be Egypt as nobody outside of their first meeting with Senegal and our first meeting has served as anything but a speed bump for this Polish led powerhouse. The goal is to get to that point, but let's not put the cart before the horse.

A solid week of training, a potential dark cloud however looms on the horizon, more on that in a moment.

Kefentse Solomons: maximum GS and his best DMI of the year coupled with a long awaited OD pop. Has really struggled in the competition of late dating back to the troubles he had the first time against Egypt which he seemingly has never fully recovered from. While having a productive offensive output from him has been made less essential due to others stepping up I have got to see if I can cajole a solid effort from him in this last final stretch. I am almost tempted to have him come off the bench this Monday as he might just be most effective that way.

Montsho Mthebe: the guy who really has turned into the straw that stirs the drink did not see a pop this week but is holding steady on his form.

Ketso Nthite: a driving pop has him sitting pretty in the HA/DR combination, somewhat surprising low on the DMI but still strong on the GS, could come off the bench this week as well, still need to take a good hard look at where I want everyone this week.


Lebohang Mbata: a JS and JR pop this week has him on the edge of elasticity on the former which means he will probably be a big contributor offensively for next season, but he has much still to offer this season.


Kasiya Mbazia: a JR pop is nice, still more of defense orientated player, his owner let me know he is in some financial difficulty and that the creditors are about to come calling, so if you see his guys on the TL pick them up so his team doesn't get put out on the street ya know!

Mpho Toyana: No pops this week, OK on the GS/DMI, again someone who is factored into the rotation on this season with his real development expected to bear fruit next. But he does give us depth at the point.

Fabian Pöll: in a holding pattern right now, no pops but maintained the approximate condition he had last week.

Jabulani Manzini: good boost on GS/DMI as he is higher in the latter than Poll though I feel Poll is still our better option, but again he is developing well and a IS pop doesn't hurt his cause whatsoever.

Krish Modise: really don't think he will be much of a factor down the stretch as his GS?DMI is a little down and will drop further being on the TL. But he's been a stout lad for us this season.

Jabulani Makeba: Saw three pops, minor jumps in deficient HA/DR and a JS pop, is on a nice trajectory for the future.


And the balance of the squad did not leave much to write home about, nor did I expect any of them to!

Congrats to the Jr. Boks on their first win vs. Misr in 2 seasons. Hats off to coach and squad, well played.

SPRINGBOKS STUN EGYPT 86-73

Ketso Nthite collected 21 points, Pöll and Mbata both had 19 and Solomons had 11 to key another balanced attack. " Tonight was an example of the sum being greater than the individual parts." Coach Lambini was quoted afterwards. " However as I said last week, this one means little.now I'm just worried we might have pissed them off, also this one really means nothing if we stub our toes against Nigeria."

In other action Tunisia secured the last spot in the final four as their 78-71 triumph over Al-Jazair coupled with Nigeria swamping Senegal 102-79 settled the issue. The semi finals are Friday with the winners securing a spot in next seasons worlds. The finals are one week hence. "All hands on deck" Coach Lambini emphatically stated afterwards.

Last edited by Coach Lambini at 8/5/2019 8:42:34 PM

Nice win. Way to go!

Nice summaries ! (i read these only tonight that's a great job!)

Hope the best for you on sunday, that will be tough i think, Egypt has a really strong team ! For us, finish on 3rd is really an achievement !

SPRINGBOKS STROLL PAST NIGERIA, INTO WORLDS 107-61

Kefentse Solomons led five Springboks in double figures as the RSA rolled past outmanned Nigeria 107-61. Coach Lambini said afterwards "This was the game we played to get to, and now that the birth in worlds is assured we can finally stop dreaming and start scheming to see what we can do to claim the Afrobasket championship! Just as anticipated Egypt looks a lot more focused this week compared to last. I really think they had a little bit of a let down last time against us, sure we played well, but we played with more intensity. This time I expect their staff to match our emotional pitch. But this is a group that believes in themselves, and who believe in each other. We have some great managers who have developed these charges, but our collective methods have been more free range as opposed to the tightly regimented methods of what I see as a near Soviet Bloc mindset. They may be more finely tuned, but I think there is not a u21 program in the world who is having more unbrided joy in the road they have traveled. Now it is time to see if there is a way to take that final step. No matter the result it has been a pleasure to make this journey." Awaiting the "baby Boks" will be the aforementioned Egyptians who turned back Tunisia with ease 82-43.