More than 250 basketball players from all corners of South Africa are preparing to converge on Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday, 26 September 2006 to compete for the 2006 Engen Under-18 inter-provincial title.
The Engen Inter-Provincial Tournament (IPT) will be held over four days – with the finals being played on Friday, 29 September – at the YMCA Sports Centre, Pietermaritzburg.
It is the third in a series of basketball tournaments sponsored by petroleum giant Engen to be held this year and is the culmination of the Engen U18 National Club Championships, held in Bloemfontein in June.
Now in its sixth year, the tournament provides the biggest stage on which the country’s under-18 basketball talent can be showcased.
The KwaZulu-Natal boys’ team and Gauteng girls’ team will be on court again this year, defending their 2005 titles.
The tournament is also a prime scouting opportunity for the national selectors.
Players like Stacey Cleophas, Vuyelwa Gamka (Western Cape), Phuti Mosehlane and Lesego Ntoi (Free State) as well as Zanele Peter (Eastern Cape) have already attracted attention from the national selectors at the Engen National Club Championships.
Pretoria Pentagoons’ Takalani Mfamdi will also see action in the girls’ divisions, after having been voted the National Club Championships’s Most Valuable female Player.
Players at this year’s IPT can look forward to meeting USA-based coaches Joyce Jenkins, Marvin Harvey and Chamique Holdsclaw.
The trio will spend two weeks in South Africa as part of a comprehensive coaching campaign sponsored by Engen.
Apart from coaching and motivational engagements, they will also assist in the selection of the Engen All Star Team that will be made up of the best performers in the boys’ and girls’ divisions during the tournament.
Jenkins, Harvey and Holdsclaw bring with them a wealth of international basketball experience and will conduct coaching clinics and motivational speeches with the teams as they gear up for the IPT.
Apart from the on-court action, Engen will bring in hot young hip hop artist Lungelo who will treat fans to a live performance of his latest hits.
Tip-off for the Engen U18 Inter-Provincial Tournament is at 08h00.
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