Eleven players from the Mo626 College Basketball tournament have been included in the 20-member Malawi National Basketball Team.
Basketball Association of Malawi (Basmal) released a squad dominated by players from the National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc-sponsored tournament.
The squad is expected to take part in Fiba Zone VI AfroCAN qualifiers from February 20 to 28 2023 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
According to the statement, Mo626 products Brian Nyirenda, Manelo Munthali, Francis Mpakeni, Mike Kalanga, Harris Mbenjere, Steve Mpare [forwards] and Hydin Mafuta, Ian Limbe, Bernard Kawanga and Patrick Chirwa [guards] have been named in the squad.
Centre Edward Chiwasa completes the list of players from the tournament in the squad.
Basmal Vice President Banthari Banda saluted NBM for sponsoring Mo626 College Basketball competition, saying it offered the coaches a basket of options to tap talent from.
“We are delighted because the level of the competition has greatly improved amongst the players because of the Mo626 College Basketball. “That is why you have seen that it has contributed more players into the national team, apart from the regional leagues we are running. We still have 55 percent of the players we started with in colleges and we anticipate more of such talent unearthed,” he said.
NBM plc Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager Akossa Hiwa said they are pleased that, after three-years of sponsoring the tournament, the league had produced players for the national team.
“Unearthing and development of talent within the sport of basketball remains one of the reasons that the bank continues to invest in the sport. As a bank, we are pleased to note that our commitment towards basketball has helped groom great players who will represent our country. We have renewed our commitment to Mo626 Basketball and anticipate that more talent will be developed in the upcoming seasons,” Hiwa said.
She said the bank will continue to help drive the country’s growth through initiatives across multiple sectors.
Griffin Kalua was named coach, with Justin Luwembas as his assistant.
Recently, NBM plc hiked the tournament’s sponsorship package to K450 million for another three years.
