Leemisa Thuseho

THE Lesotho Basketball Association (LBA) will on 15 February 2020 host its debut 3 on 3 Basketball Corporate Challenge at Lehakoe Recreational and Cultural Centre.

LBA’s 3 on 3 committee public relations officer Mookho Ntebe told the Sunday Express that the tournament was only open to only groups of employees from local companies.

Ntebe said the tournament is meant to create a platform for team building among employees from different companies.

“The tournament is open to local companies because it is the first edition,” Ntebe said.

“We are aware that several companies have always been active in sports but we have seen only a few activities that involve basketball and we want to change that.

“Also, basketball has grown in the past few years and companies now have lots of young men and women who love the game, so we are opening opportunities for them.

“We hope to build strong relations with different companies and eventually start a 3 on 3 basketball league with them. This may help us grow the league.”

She said each team must have maximum of four players in all the categories.

“Participants may register only as part of a company team and no individual entries are accepted. Each organisation must come up with a team of four players and they are also to bring in mixed teams.

“We are sending invitations to as many companies as possible. Our organising team is working very hard and we hope to get response starting next week.”

Locally, 3 on 3 basketball was introduced last year and Ntebe hopes their initiative will popularise the form.

“More people are willing to play this kind of basketball but fail because of competing commitments and also, the common five-aside basketball takes longer.

“Therefore, we are looking forward to having more 3 on 3 tournaments that will be hosted to cover different categories among them corporates, seniors and juniors among them under-20, 18 and 16. At some point, we might even get to host districts tournaments which will involve more people,” Ntebe said.