Domestic basketball teams registered mixed fortunes in the 2024 Bravehearts Invitational Basketball Tournament held at African Bible College (ABC) in Lilongwe.
At the end of the four-day tournament, University of Lilongwe (Unilil) Arkangels won their maiden international tournament in the ladies’ category after beating Lusaka Basketball Queens 65-64 in a nail-biting encounter played in front of a huge crowd on Monday night.
In the men’s category, Matero Magic from Zambia emerged champions after beating hosts Bravehearts 67-51.
However, the ladies’ final was a thriller as Arkangels won the contest with the last chance of the game, to the delight of the home crowd.
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Arkangels Coach Lisungu Banda said the players executed the game-plan well.
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“We studied our opponents very well and we had a good strategy. Credit to the players for showing great character. We are very happy that we won our first international tournament,” Banda said.
On their way to the final, Arkangels defeated fellow local side Kukoma Eagles 40-35 whereas Lusaka beat Bravehearts Ladies 53-42.
For winning the tournament, Arkangels got K2 million plus a trophy.
In the men’s category, Bravehearts got a taste of their own medicine against Magic from Zambia. The Zambian champions dominated the match from the word go until the last quarter.
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Simply put, Bravehearts had a night to forget.
At the end of the first quarter, the scores were 21-15 in favour of Magic.
At the break, Magic extended their lead to 40- 19.
The hosts tried to come back into the game but it was too little, too late.
Bravehearts Coach Griffin Kalua admitted that his charges lost to a good side.
“We played against Zambian champions; so, it was a difficult match for us. But there are several positives from the tournament,” Kalua said.
The tournament attracted teams from Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe and hosts Malawi.
