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Very nice W ! :)

Game 3: South Africa U21 111 vs. Nigeria U21 88 (63253)

Record: 3-0

Standing: Currently 1st place
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

The team came into this game more pumped up than normal for this early battle of undefeated teams and it was more than enough to earn the victory.

- The team saw great offensive performances from both Stephen Buffery and Katiza Matsangura who both scored 23 points, hit 11 shots from the field while only taking 16 and 17 respectively.
- After starting PF Cab Scott went down in the 1st quarter with an injury, Thandiwe Majola stepped up to the plate, scoring 16 points on an efficient 7-11 shooting, grabbing 14 boards on his way to a double-double while also dishing out 5 assists and blocking 3 shots.
- Asanda Mbhele couldn't hit a shot but contributed nonetheless by hauling in 18 rebounds, including 9 offensive rebounds, along with 8 assists and 3 blocks.

Player of the Game: Thandiwe Majola (49688188) trained by A Warrior

Up next is the home nation, Al Jazair, who is currently in 7th place after having forfeited 2 of their games thus far. Regardless of our opponent, we'll show up ready to compete.

Game 4: Al Jazair U21 0 vs. South Africa U21 50 (63256)

Record: 4-0

Standing: Currently 1st place
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

Al Jazair decided not to show up for the game, which was their 3rd forfeit in this early season. Tough to see the home nation throwing away their home-court advantage and disappointing their fans.

Player(s) of the Game: Al Jazair

Al Maghrib, the 5th place team in the standings, is who we have lined up next so hopefully, an extra week of practice will have the team ready to go!

Game 5: Al Maghrib U21 75 vs. South Africa U21 109 (63262)

Record: 5-0

Standing: Currently 1st place
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

A great all-around performance from the team led to an easy victory against Al Maghrib.

- Big man Asanda "Monstar" Mbhele secured a double-double by putting up 16 points (8/13), 14 rebounds and 4 assists for the game.
- Stephen Buffery and Katiza Matsangura continue to provide a scoring punch as they scored 18 and 16 points, respectively, good enough for 1st and 2nd on the team.
- Lead guard Stuart Murray turned in an extremely effective all-around performance with 14 points, including going 4-4 from the 3-point line, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and 3 blocks.
- This game showed domination across the board as the Baby Boks had the edge in every statistical category except one.
- The lone blemish from the team was a 6-17 (35%) shooting night from the free-throw line for the team. Everyone that took shots from the charity stripe missed at least one. That'll be something for the coaching staff to work on in the coming weeks.

Player of the Game: Asanda Mbhele (49690632) trained by A Warrior

Our team will face off next against the last-place team in the tournament, Tounes.

Game 6: South Africa U21 102 vs. Tounes U21 60 (63266)

Record: 6-0

Standing: Currently 1st place
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

Another resounding team win from the Baby Boks.

- Big man Cab Scott led the way in this one with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
- After an injury to Asanda Mbhele 19 minutes in, Thandiwe Majola was pressed for duty and provided 9 points, 13 rebounds, a steal and a block.
- Starting Power Forward Xola Beye turned in an extremely efficient game as he only needed 10 shots to put up 16 points in just 23 minutes of play.

Player of the Game: Cab Scott (49392370) trained by mathew13693

Final match of the first round is coming up against Misr!

Game 7: Misr U21 80 vs. South Africa U21 - 120 (63270)

Record: 7-0

Standing: 1st place at the end of Round 1
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

The Misr squad was no match for our well-rounded South African crew.

- Star wing Stephen Buffery could not be stopped as he led the team with 30 points, while only missing two shots after going 11-13 from the field and 8-8 from the free throw line.
- Xola Beye turned in a great all-around game as he scored 13 points on 6-9 shooting, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks.
- In just 18 minutes, Thandiwe Majola put in a lot of work as he was second on the team with 16 points and added 7 rebounds on top of that.
- All five starters for the game reached double-digit scoring numbers in this one.

Player of the Game: Stephen Buffery (49392346) trained by Ezio

On to round 2 where we hope to keep up our winning ways! Up first in this round is our same initial match-up from round 1, Ghana, who ended the first round ranked 2nd. It'll be another tough match to prepare for right off the bat but we'll be ready.

Very nice 1st round. Way to go!

Game 9: South Africa U21 68 vs. Senegal U21 63 (63871)

Record: 9-0 for the season, 7-0 official record
(Note: After Round 1, only the games against the advancing teams carry over to Round 2)

Standing: Currently 1st place
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

It was another hard-fought game against a good Senegal team that saw us come out on top by just 5 points though the team is going to need an extra day of rest to recover from this one.

- Defense again was the name of the game. Our team held Senegal to 27-83 (32.5%) shooting from the field and 1-21 (4.8%) from the 3-point line to only give up 63 points in this one.
- Katiza Matsangura was the entire offense for the team in this one as he put up 37 points, including 15 points from the free-throw line which contributed to almost fouling out 3 of Senegal's players
- Starting point guard Sekgoma Ramasodi was the only other South African to score in double-digits with 13 points.
- Once again, bigs Asanda Mbhele and Thandiwe Majola controlled the boards by reining in 16 and 15 rebounds, respectively.

Player of the Game: Katiza Matsangura (49686182) trained by DRoss

Our upcoming match will be against the last place Al Maghrib squad.

Last edited by A Warrior at 3/22/2022 11:30:32 PM

Silly me... I accidentally edited the Game 8 post when writing the Game 9 post and wrote over it.

Game 8 snapshot - We beat the 2nd place Ghana team to start the 2nd round with one of our most impressive defensive performances ever by holding them to 47 points for the game. Sekgoma Ramasodi trained by Rapper was named player of the game.

Game 10: South Africa 110 vs. Al Maghrib U21 81 (63873)

Record: 10-0 for the season, 8-0 official record 
(Note: After Round 1, only the games against the advancing teams carry over to Round 2)

Standing: Currently 1st place and secured 1st seed in the playoffs
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

This South African team keeps its winning streak alive against Al Maghrib!

- Star Stephen Buffery was coming into the game a bit worn down from his club matches but didn't let that stop him as he put up a 26-point performance (9-12 from the field) to lead the team along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
- The guard trio of Sekgoma Ramasodi, Katiza Matsangura and Stuart Murray all put up 15+ points in this one.
- Big man Asanda Mbhele pulled down 13 boards in this one.

Player of the Game: Stephen Buffery (49392346) trained by Ezio

Up next is the 2nd to last place Misr team.

Game 11: Misr U21 85 vs. South Africa U21 116 (63875)

Record: 11-0 for the season, 9-0 official record 
(Note: After Round 1, only the games against the advancing teams carry over to Round 2)

Standing: Currently 1st place and secured 1st seed in the playoffs
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

Another week, another win.

- Shooting guard Landuleni Saruchera put up an easy 20 points in just 20 minutes of time on the court. His efficient 6-11 from the field and perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line.
- The starting perimeter players of Sekgoma Ramasodi, Katiza Matsangura and Landuleni Saruchera all contributed on the offensive end in this one as they each of them had over 19+ points.
- Asanda Mbhele and Thandiwe Majola continue to show up to do the dirty work grabbing another combined 26 boards between them.
- The offensive energy was flowing in this one as there were 5 players who had over 3 assists in this one.

Player of the Game: Landuleni Saruchera (49690607) trained by DRoss

This week's match-up will be the first of back-to-back games against Nigeria, with the second game being the semi-final match.

Also, just a heads up that this might be my last full post for a little while as things in life are about to pick up for me and may keep me from writing up game summaries but I'll still be focused on making sure the team is prepared to punch our ticket to worlds and chase that 3rd African gold!

Game 12: Nigeria 71 vs. South Africa 92 (63879)

Record: 12-0 for the season, 10-0 official record 
(Note: After Round 1, only the games against the advancing teams carry over to Round 2)

Standing: Currently 1st place and secured 1st seed in the playoffs
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 6 of the 8 teams will advance after each team has played each other.)

Closing out round 2 with a win against Nigeria.

- *Copy and paste from last week* Shooting guard Landuleni Saruchera put up an easy 20 points in just 21 minutes of time on the court. His efficient 7-12 from the field, included shooting 3-6 from deep.
- Thandiwe Majola pulled down 16 tough rebounds and held the opposing center to 0-8 shooting from the field.
- Defense led the charge once again as the team held Nigeria to 29-98 (29.6%) shooting in this one.

Player of the Game: Landuleni Saruchera (49690607) trained by DRoss

Semi-finals up next as we head into another battle with Nigeria! In the other semi-final game, Senegal and Ghana will also have themselves a rematch.