Matero Magic Basketball Club says it is technically ready to represent Zambia at the FIBA Africa Zone Six Championship which will be held in South Africa next month.
Matero Magic club Assistant Coach David Musonda said the team has good players who are capable of helping Zambia finish in the top bracket.
We have a formidable team that is ready to compete. The team has experienced players which is key for us,
he said.
Musonda said the club has been advised to submit 30 names of players, adding that those to make the list will be selected on merit.
He further said the team needs US$27,000 to be able to compete in the event.
Musonda, however, said the issue is being handled internally.
The tournament has attracted six teams from Botswana,Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and host South Africa.
According to a circular released by FIBA, the tournament is slated for South Africa will be used as a qualifier for the Basketball Africa League and it will run from October 23 to October 31, 2021.
The teams that will fight for the two available places for the Basketball League include Ferroviaro (Mozambique), Mercenaries (Zimbabwe), Matero Magic (Zambia), Police Academy (Botswana), Bravehearts (Malawi) and Cape Town (South Africa).
All the six teams are champions in their respective countries.
In May this year, the African Basketball governing body FIBA Africa collaborated with the National Basketball Association which is a professional Basketball League in North America, the International Basketball Federation and NBA Academy Africa to launch the inaugural Basketball Africa League which took place in Kigali, Rwanda.
The inaugural event attracted teams from Madagascar, Nigeria, Tunusia, Mali, Morroco, Cameroon, Angola, Senegal, Mozambique, Algeria and host Rwanda.