By Chris Totobela
The Rhodes University men’s basketball team, the Eagles, was crowned the EC Basketball Provincial Club champions.
They came up against very tough opponents but they stood their ground. In the first game they came up against East London-based Jaguars and beat them 39-33 before beating Gqeberha’s Comets 59-56, booking a semi-final berth against East London-based Skyriders.
The local side proved too strong for their opponents and brushed them aside with a whopping 70-23 to set up a date with their fellow Makhandans, the Rhodes Titans.
The Eagles fought very hard to overcome the Titans 63-59 and were crowned Eastern Cape champions.
Rhodes University will now represent the province at the National Basketball South Africa Championships in Cape Town this coming weekend (19 to 22 September), and will not only carry Makhanda’s hopes but the entire province’s.
According to Xolisa Kula, Rhodes University’s sports administrator and basketball coach, the team is expected to do well as they had good preparations for the trip and will come back with valuable experience.
