Men’s 3 on 3 basketball team to participate in World Beach games in Qatar
A four-man squad will represent the country in Doha, Qatar for the 2019 Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), the Beach Games in Doha, Qatar.
The team left this week for the games which will officially be opened by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Saturday, according to Jacobina Uushona, spokesperson for the Basketball Artists School (BAS).
The games will be going on for a course of about 7 days with an expected number of 1240 athletes from over 100 countries and 14 sports in 16 disciplines.
The basketball squad will be in a pool of 16 male teams and 32 teams in total, including the female teams and the 3×3 games will commence on Sunday up until Wednesday, she added.
Uushona said the squad was selected from the Namibia Basketball Federation.
One of the players Firmino Bonaventure Mael prior to their departure said he was more than excited to be part of such history-making.
“My team and I have received such great support from our chaperons and the Olympic Committee as well as our families and community,” he said.
Tireemukuru Toromba, another player, explained, “Being part of Team Namibia at such a worldwide platform is a huge honour and the team feels the same duty as myself: to properly represent the country on and off the court”.
“As chaperones we understand that our responsibility to be respectable representatives is just as important as that of the players. We wish to learn a thing or two by attending these games, so as to implement it upon our return into our own basketball and sporting culture,” NBF treasurer Sylvia Sawahenga added.
Meanwhile, the Namibian National Olympic Committee ensured the provision of all necessary equipment for the traveling team and fully supports them, she added.
Caption: Firmino Bonaventure Mael(23), Mantius Amukoshi(19), Tireemukuru Toromba(19), Kautjeza John Tjirimuje(20) and Delegation member Malakia Matias.
