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We're back in business, ready to defend our title and hoping to 3-peat as the reigning African U21 champions!

Game 1: South Africa U21 vs. Ghana U21 102 - 84 (63244)

Record: 1-0

Standing: Currently 3rd place
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

To start the tournament, the team played a surprisingly stout Ghanaian squad that has seen vast improvements over the last couple of seasons with the inclusion of foreign-born Ghanaian players entering the fold. Ghana has the highest salaried player in the tournament in big man Omar Sy (40K) so we knew we'd be in for a tough one down-low. They brought the extra enthusiasm to this game but our team hung tough and was able to earn the win.

- Sekgoma Ramasodi was thrust into the starting line-up as starting shooting guard, Katiza Matsangura, dealt with a bout of food poisoning and boy did Sekgoma deliver. He was on fire in this one, busting the Ghanaian's zone with 13-21 shooting, including going 7-11 from 3, to lead all players with 33 points for the game.
- Future National Team star, Stephen Buffery had a strong all-around performance with 21 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 blocks and a steal while holding his opponent to 4-18 shooting for the game.
- Starting big men Asanda Mbhele and Thandiwe Majola were ready to battle with Omar and they held their own, pulling down 18 and 19 rebounds each.
- Steady Stuart Murray rounded out the starting line-up and poured in 17 points of his own.
- Coach didn't waste any time in this one as he was running the starters into the ground as they all played 40+ minutes.

Player of the Game: Sekgoma "Crossover" Ramasodi (49690658) trained by Rapper

Up next is the 2nd place Senegal team who we have seen a lot of in recent scrimmages.

We're back in business, ready to defend our title and hoping to 3-peat as the reigning African U21 champions!

Has a NT ever won the African U21 championship 3 times in a row ?
Compared to the last 2 champion teams, is the roster better or worse ? Good luck !

We wouldn't be the first as Senegal's U21 won four times in a row from Seasons 30-36 and more recently, Misr's U21 won three times in a row from Seasons 44-48 but this would definitely be a first for South Africa's U21!

I would personally rank this as the 2nd best roster we've had out of my 3 teams during the African tournament. Our Season 54 team was probably our best and deepest, boasting some of South Africa's best U21 players, while our Season 52 team was really top-heavy with Umi Mugabe leading the way but was lacking in depth. This team has many very solid players and good depth though not as much star power as in the past. Additionally, all of our opposition has also benefited more than us from the new Utopia dual citizenship and we're starting to see that this season with higher potential players who've been trained well amongst more of our opponents so we've got a good squad but it's going to be far from an easy road.

Game 2: Senegal U21 vs. South Africa U21 101 - 102 (63251)

Record: 2-0

Standing: Currently 2nd place
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

What a game! Our South African side pulled off a 1-point win in what was back and forth match-up with Senegal.

- Stephen Buffery came to play. He logged 44 minutes and led the team in scoring with 33 points, shooting 13-23 from the field, including 6-11 from the 3-point line.
- Starting point guard Stuart Murray poured in 23 points on a very efficient 9-13 from the field and a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line.
- Big men Asanda Mbhele and Thandiwe Majola didn't light up the scoreboard but they managed to contribute in other ways as they combined for 25 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks.
- Free throw shooting discrepancy is always a concern every season so we'll keep a close eye on things as Senegal went to the line 20 times in this one while we only had 8 attempts.
- Some of the other in-game concerns, despite us holding Senegal to a much worse shooting percentage (37% vs our 47%), was the fact that they pulled down 7 more offensive rebounds, took 11 more shots and had 4 fewer turnovers than us.

Player of the Game: Stephen Buffery(49392346) trained by Ezio

It's only the 3rd game of the season but the stars have aligned for it to be a good one as we face-off against the 1st ranked team and the only other remaining undefeated African U21 team, Nigeria. Only one of us will sit at the top of the standings after this one!

Very nice W ! :)

Game 3: South Africa U21 111 vs. Nigeria U21 88 (63253)

Record: 3-0

Standing: Currently 1st place
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

The team came into this game more pumped up than normal for this early battle of undefeated teams and it was more than enough to earn the victory.

- The team saw great offensive performances from both Stephen Buffery and Katiza Matsangura who both scored 23 points, hit 11 shots from the field while only taking 16 and 17 respectively.
- After starting PF Cab Scott went down in the 1st quarter with an injury, Thandiwe Majola stepped up to the plate, scoring 16 points on an efficient 7-11 shooting, grabbing 14 boards on his way to a double-double while also dishing out 5 assists and blocking 3 shots.
- Asanda Mbhele couldn't hit a shot but contributed nonetheless by hauling in 18 rebounds, including 9 offensive rebounds, along with 8 assists and 3 blocks.

Player of the Game: Thandiwe Majola (49688188) trained by A Warrior

Up next is the home nation, Al Jazair, who is currently in 7th place after having forfeited 2 of their games thus far. Regardless of our opponent, we'll show up ready to compete.

Game 4: Al Jazair U21 0 vs. South Africa U21 50 (63256)

Record: 4-0

Standing: Currently 1st place
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

Al Jazair decided not to show up for the game, which was their 3rd forfeit in this early season. Tough to see the home nation throwing away their home-court advantage and disappointing their fans.

Player(s) of the Game: Al Jazair

Al Maghrib, the 5th place team in the standings, is who we have lined up next so hopefully, an extra week of practice will have the team ready to go!

Game 5: Al Maghrib U21 75 vs. South Africa U21 109 (63262)

Record: 5-0

Standing: Currently 1st place
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

A great all-around performance from the team led to an easy victory against Al Maghrib.

- Big man Asanda "Monstar" Mbhele secured a double-double by putting up 16 points (8/13), 14 rebounds and 4 assists for the game.
- Stephen Buffery and Katiza Matsangura continue to provide a scoring punch as they scored 18 and 16 points, respectively, good enough for 1st and 2nd on the team.
- Lead guard Stuart Murray turned in an extremely effective all-around performance with 14 points, including going 4-4 from the 3-point line, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and 3 blocks.
- This game showed domination across the board as the Baby Boks had the edge in every statistical category except one.
- The lone blemish from the team was a 6-17 (35%) shooting night from the free-throw line for the team. Everyone that took shots from the charity stripe missed at least one. That'll be something for the coaching staff to work on in the coming weeks.

Player of the Game: Asanda Mbhele (49690632) trained by A Warrior

Our team will face off next against the last-place team in the tournament, Tounes.

Game 6: South Africa U21 102 vs. Tounes U21 60 (63266)

Record: 6-0

Standing: Currently 1st place
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

Another resounding team win from the Baby Boks.

- Big man Cab Scott led the way in this one with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
- After an injury to Asanda Mbhele 19 minutes in, Thandiwe Majola was pressed for duty and provided 9 points, 13 rebounds, a steal and a block.
- Starting Power Forward Xola Beye turned in an extremely efficient game as he only needed 10 shots to put up 16 points in just 23 minutes of play.

Player of the Game: Cab Scott (49392370) trained by mathew13693

Final match of the first round is coming up against Misr!

Game 7: Misr U21 80 vs. South Africa U21 - 120 (63270)

Record: 7-0

Standing: 1st place at the end of Round 1
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

The Misr squad was no match for our well-rounded South African crew.

- Star wing Stephen Buffery could not be stopped as he led the team with 30 points, while only missing two shots after going 11-13 from the field and 8-8 from the free throw line.
- Xola Beye turned in a great all-around game as he scored 13 points on 6-9 shooting, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks.
- In just 18 minutes, Thandiwe Majola put in a lot of work as he was second on the team with 16 points and added 7 rebounds on top of that.
- All five starters for the game reached double-digit scoring numbers in this one.

Player of the Game: Stephen Buffery (49392346) trained by Ezio

On to round 2 where we hope to keep up our winning ways! Up first in this round is our same initial match-up from round 1, Ghana, who ended the first round ranked 2nd. It'll be another tough match to prepare for right off the bat but we'll be ready.

Very nice 1st round. Way to go!