Women’s basketball team makes history in their quest to play at African Beach Games in Cape Verde
Sylvia Sawahenga, Gie Mukumbuta, Victoria Netumbo and Sarah Severus are four women who will carry Namibia’s flag in basketball at the upcoming African Beach Games. The four women are the first-ever Namibian female basketball team to compete at continental level.
The African Beach Games run from 14 to 23 June on Isla de Sal in the Cape Verde islands off the Senegal coast.
Qualifiers for the 3×3 Women’s National Team were played during May at which point the four-girl team made a solid impression among a large pool of hopefuls by winning the tournament. This gained them their national colours as the 3×3 Women’s National Basketball team.
The team is accompanied by the Namibia Basketball Federation’s Development Officer, Malakia Matias who has helped them prepare for the games. “Hopefully this serves to remind the young players that there is indeed much to look forward to in basketball and sports in general,” he said.
The federation’s Secretary General, Ramah Mumba said that this is the first time that Namibia is recognized on such a platform in the sport of basketball. “The team has already made us very proud by being part of such an historic event in sports history, specifically basketball,” he said.
National player, Netumbo said “We will wear our national colours with pride and we appreciate the support coming from everybody. We will do our best to make everyone proud”.
Eleven different sport codes will be represented at the games. About 1000 athletes from 54 countries are expected to participate.
Caption: The first ever 3×3 Women’s National Basketball team to compete at continental level with their Development Officer, Malakia Matias on the left. The team members are, from the left, Sylvia Sawahenga, Gie Mukumbuta, Victoria Netumbo and Sarah Severus.
