By Bless Zoshe
Buea, Cameroon
The Southwest Region League of Basketball has launched their activities for the 2013 season.
The launching which took place at the Molyko Sports Complex, Buea on Easter Sunday, brought together five teams, with two from Douala, in the Littoral region.
The teams included; Volcanic Warriors Buea, Old Timers Veterans Buea, the University of Buea, Evolution Basketball Club Douala, and SNOOP Douala.
SNOOP Douala Volcanic Warrios encounters
For the results recorded on the opening day; University of Buea lost to Evolution Douala (44 – 46), Volcanic Warriors beat SNOOP (52 – 27), Evolution humbled Old Timers Veterans (50 – 31), SNOOP defeated UB (54 – 48), while Volcanic Warriors thumped Old Timers (31 – 10).
Reacting after the games, most participants commended the Southwest Regional League for organizing the tournament, despite certain organizational lapses.
According to the president of Evolution Douala, “the tournament went well despite some organizational hitches. We hope the Southwest Regional League has taken note, so as to improve in future competitions. The level was not bad, but much is still to be done, especially for Volcanic Warriors, who have good players, but are a little disorganized. Generally it was good, and we thank the organizers for inviting us,” he said.
To Ngoulle Joel of SNOOP, “it was an exciting experience for us. Many of us had never been to Buea, so we are glad to have seen the Mount Cameroon.”
Ifose Mbella Emile, President SW Basketball League
On his part, the captain of the UB team Zedoc Steve affirmed that the competition was particularly helpful for them as they prepare for the All University Games billed for Ngaoundere this April.
For the President of the league, Ifose Emile Mbella, it was important to launch their activities despite the challenges.
“We are happy we launched. This is one of the most challenging parts for every sporting league. Hereafter we shall be moving to Tiko, and we are also looking forward to going to Limbe.
We are struggling to support all our teams that participate in external competitions like the University of Buea. We noticed that they have a handicap when they don’t play regularly, so we encourage them to play as many matches as possible.
We invited 10 teams, 5 came. Members of some of the teams are students who are either on Easter break or out on internship. However, that did not stop us. Our mission is to promote basketball in the region,” Mbella said.
