KZN honours for North Coast basketball duo

Two of the North Coast’s best basketball prospects will get a chance to show their talent at provincial level.

Lusanda Hlongwane (18) and Chadley Hartgreaves (17) were both selected to the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) U19 basketball team after impressing at trials in March.

Hlongwane, who plays in either the small forward or power forward position, is from Melville outside KwaDukuza and rose through the ranks of the Yachts of Fun Basketball Academy.

Started by American expat, Kent Vanderyacht, the academy aims to spread the sport of basketball throughout the North Coast and unearth potential future stars.

“I have coached Lusanda for the past two years and was able to get him a scholarship at Northwood High School where I am the first team coach,” said Vanderyacht.

Hlongwane has grown in stature in the forward role, learning the ins-and-outs of big man play from Vanderyacht, who also acts as a mentor to the North Coast boys at the school.

There are currently seven boys from Vanderyacht’s academy (three from KwaDukuza) who play in age group teams at Northwood, which is one of KZN’s best sport schools in Durban North.

“My goal as a coach is to give scholarships to these boys who would never otherwise get the opportunity and to give them the same opportunity as my children,” said Vanderyacht, who also co-founded the Hearts That Hope children’s home.

Hartgreaves is also an academy member and hails from Brettenwood in Salt Rock.

The youngster plays mostly as a shooting guard and has quickly established himself as one of the best U18 players in KZN.

A free scorer and wing defender, Hartgreaves was also awarded the Northwood Most Valuable Player award at last year’s end of season prizegiving.

Step aside Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, the North Coast has a ‘Splash Brothers’ pairing of their own!

There is currently no date for an inter-provincial competition, but the players should get a chance to test themselves against the country’s best later this year.

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The second edition of the Ballito Basketball Youth League tipped off last week with four more games hosted at Eden Academy.

Eden’s white team outlasted Beaches to win 25-18, with Tristan Palmer scoring 13 of Eden’s points.

Yachts of Fun’s white team beat RA Padayachee 48-6 behind 12 points from Hudson Fourie.

Yachts of Fun’s blue team was run a little closer by Shakaskraal Primary, but were able to claim the 35-23 win with the help of Sonny Zungu’s 11 points.

The final game of the day provided the best competition as Reddam Ballito and Eden’s blue team faced off.

Reddam’s Faye Harrison poured in 19 points to lead the team to a 27-24 win.

The next league matches will be played at Townsend Park from 2pm on Friday, May 12.

Call Vanderyacht at 078 849 4313 if you would like to find out more.

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