The much-anticipated Mo626 College Basketball Top Eight Tournament played on Saturday at the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) has managed to produce semifinalists for the men and women categories.
The Elite Top Eight tournament delivered thrilling results as University of Lilongwe (UNILIL), Malawi Assemblies of God University (MAGU), Mzuni University (MZUNI), and Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) women teams booked their places in the semi-finals.
African Bible College (ABC), University of Malawi (UNIMA), MAGU, and UNILIL secured their semifinal spots in the men’s divisions after an intense encounter on the court.
MAGU and MUBAS women secured a 20-0 victory each against Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS) which failed to turn up and automatically forfeited their points, while MZUNI defeated UNIMA 43-36.
UNIMA bounced back strongly in their second fixture by beating Catholic University (CUNIMA) 49-34, while MUBAS triumphed against Bunda College 50-49.
In the men’s division, the competition was intense as Malawi College of Accountancy (MCA-BT) defeated MAGU 44-41, while ABC overcame MUBAS 44-34, and UNIMA secured a close 49-43 win over MZUNI.
UNILIL thumped MUST 65-54, while ABC continued their dominance by beating MCA-BT 41-34 while MAGU cruised to a 41-32 victory over MUBAS.
Mzuni hotshots captain, Sharon Chikaonda who plays point guard, said she is proud of her team’s dedication and perseverance and that qualifying for the semi-finals is a great achievement.
“I feel proud of our team’s performance at the Mo626 Elite 8 Basketball game. We showed great determination and skill, winning against UNIMA and putting up a strong fight against UNILIL,” said Chikaonda.
National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc’s Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager, Akossa Hiwa, hailed the electric performance on the day saying the Bank is proud to be part of this initiative which not only fosters talent, but also encourages youth development, healthy living, and community engagement.
“The tournament was electric, with high energy, and competitiveness, and now we have our four teams for both men and women that will be going into the finals.”
“As we move on to the semi-final and finals on the 27th of September 2024, as a Bank we will continue engaging with our stakeholders at different levels with Mo626 Basketball Teams in tertiary institutions and will commit to investing in the development of tertiary education sports,” Hiwa explained.
Basketball Association of Malawi (Basmal) Vice President, Banthari Banda, echoed Hiwa’s sentiments, expressing his excitement at the level of competition to find the top four teams for both men’s and women’s games.
“The teams prepared diligently, and we have witnessed outstanding teamwork, technical prowess, and tactical brilliance. The level of basketball is exceptional, and we expect even more as the tournament progresses to the finals and this will also help us find top players that will be featured in the National team,” said Banda.
This year’s finals will take place on September 28 at ABC Gymnasium and will see the winners walking away with K5 million as the grand prize, while the runners-up in both male and female categories will cart home K3 million each.
