Leemisa Thuseho
TOP local basketball coach, Fako Masupha, says he is ready to deliver as new head coach of South African side, Eastern Cape Windbreakers.
Masupha who joined the team in October last year as assistant coach was recently promoted to the position of head coach.
The team competes in the National Basketball League.
Masupha said he was already hard at work preparing his team for this year’s season expected to commence early next month.
He told the Sunday Express he was aware of the challenges that came with being a head coach and he was ready for them.
Masupha said it had always been his dream to coach in top leagues and showcase his capabilities.
“Unlike in my previous position, now all the responsibilities are on me as head coach but I’m ready to deliver.
“It’s a big achievement for me, coming from a small country like Lesotho, to be entrusted with leading a team in South Africa,” he said.
Masupha said despite this being his first season as head coach, he was confident of starting on a high note given that the players already knew him and his philosophy.
“Now that I am the head coach, I will be able to implement my coaching philosophy. I believe in basics and fundamentals of basketball and that is what I have been working on since my arrival.
“I have implemented structured defensive and attacking play, efficiency and conditioning. It will just be a matter of carrying on with what I was already building.”
Masupha was however, concerned that a number of his players were aging. They were aged between 28 and 32 and would soon be leaving the game.
To address this, he said he was looking forward to introducing young players to ensure continuity.
Masupha said his team was currently busy with pre-season friendly games and tournaments in preparation for the forthcoming season.
Masupha is the co-founder of local club, Bokamoso Basketball Club. He is also former president and technical director of the Lesotho Basketball Association (LBA).
He started his coaching career in 2010 at Johnson Baker High School in Mafeteng. He then went to Christ the King High School the same year and helped them to win the National High School Championship.
During his coaching days at the National University of Lesotho (NUL), Masupha won Lesotho Universities and Colleges Sport Association (LUCSA) gold medals between 2011 and 2013.
He also led NUL to winning a silver medal at the Botswana, Lesotho and eSwatini (BOLESWA) Intervarsity Games in 2013.
Masupha was the national under 17 basketball coach at the 2012 Confederation of Southern African Schools Sports Association (COSSASA) Games in Namibia as well as Under 20 coach at the African Union Sport Council Region Games in Zimbabwe in 2014.
Comments are closed.