Ekurhuleni basketball team claims third place at tournament
“There are a lot of things we got right but we could not have gotten it right without the players and management of the clubs.”
Basketball players from far and wide descended on Edenvale when they competed in the recent U19 Vale Tournament.
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Hosted by Edenvale Lions Basketball Academy (ELBA). the tournament was held on July 30 and 31 at its home courts at Edenvale sports grounds.
Overall, the event was described by ELBA co-founder Byron Pinheiro as a success.
“We said this would be the biggest junior tournament in SA and we feel that we have pulled that off in many ways,” said Pinheiro.
“There are a lot of things we got right but we could not have gotten it right without the players and management of the clubs.”
Pinheiro thanked all of the tournament’s sponsors for making the day a reality.
Pinheiro and co-founder Edson Makavan got the day rolling with an exhibition game, which Makavan won 24-9.
This was followed by a series of knockout games, which included the likes of Wanderers Scorpions, Jenny Wu Sports Academy, East Side Ballers, Lokshin Boys, Germiston, UJ, and Elba.
Teams competed for the first-place prize of R35 000, a second-place prize of R10 000 and a third-place prize of R5 000.
In the first semi-final match Lokshin Boys went up against ELBA, winning 55-49.
Fighting for second place East Side Ballers competed against Wanderers Scorpions, winning 42-26.
Not to be outdone ELBA fought back and faced Wanderers Scorpions for the third position, winning 32-27.
In the championship game, East Side Ballers went up against the Lokshin Boys.
Despite cutting it close East Side Ballers won 72-24.
Dylan Capazario was named most valuable player of the tournament while Elba’s Thami Mtsweni received the title of the academy’s most loyal player.
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