Local basketball giants Bravehearts Ladies on Sunday were crowned champions of the 2024 Ashraf Lodewyk Memorial Basketball Tournament following a 71-67 victory over Sparks in Johannesburg, South Africa.
It was a wonderful performance from the ladies’ team as they came from 12 points behind in the first half.
Inspired by Mwayi Kadammanja, Riana Damaris, Orlin Londo and Madalitso Mkandawire, Bravehearts staged a second half comeback to win gold.
The ladies team won all their games during the tournament.
Damaris was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
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Both Damaris and Londo were named in the team of the competition.
For winning the tournament, the ladies team got scholarships at Wits University and gold medals.
However, the men’s team finished second after a 70-55 loss to South African champions Cape Town Tigers.
Bravehearts patron Griffin Kalua said there were several positives from the tournament.
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“We met several good teams from South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia and eSwatini. But we showed our quality in both categories,’’ Kalua said.
The tournament was organised to celebrate and honour the life of Ledowyk.
Bravehearts have participated in several international tournaments in Zambia, South Africa, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.
Apart from taking part in international tournaments outside the country, Bravehearts have hosted international tournaments.
The inaugural Bravehearts Invitational Tournament took place in 2017 in which Harare City Hornets were crowned champions in Lilongwe.
