The Phoenix Suns’ (NBA) Amar’e Stoudemire Foundation organized a five-day basketball Camp aimed to support young basketball players all over Bamako city, the Malian capital city. Some young men were incredible when they had been called by the local organizer the coach Alkaya Toure, to take part in this five-day basketball camp, because initiatives like this are rare in the country. It was true! After about eight hours travel from United States of America to Mali, a West African country, one of the poorest countries in the world, the Coaches Travis King, Marcus McGee and their collaborators Mr. David Zimmerman and William Becket meet the 23 young kids for the first training part in the Stade Modibo Keita Gym. Concerning the U16 kids, the general manager of the Amar’e Stoudemire Foundation Basketball Camp, The Coach Travis King explained “This Camp is about the humanitarian actions of the Phoenix Suns player, Amar’e Stoudemire, through which he wants to help poorest Kids by giving them a chance to get to high level in Basketball and at school too. After the Camps in different part in the USA, we are decided to bring this project in to Africa, and I’m very happy to be here.” At the end of the Camp some of the best ones will be selected for the elite centers in the USA so they can get to top and be able one day to support other young Men from the continent. Over the young kids, the Amar’e Stoudemire Foundation has a vision to support the Malian Basketball which is among the best in the African Continent. All the Kids benefited Nike Basketball Shoes with Tee-shirts and Shirts of the Amar’e Stoudemire Foundation.

Joaquim Brandao Gomes a.k.a. Kikas was born in December 23, 1980 in Luanda to Joaquim Gomes and Maria Brandao. The 6’7’’ forward has dominated all games with Angola’s team during the 25th African Cup of Nations (Afrobasket) organized by Libya. Even playing at home, Kikas has nothing to envy to the African players playing in Europe or USA. By beating Ivory Coast in the final, Angola got its 10th Afrobasket chip (sixth consecutive).

According to all the votes, Joaquim Brandao Gomes a.k.a. Kikas was chosen the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in all of Africa and the best forward in the tournament, and his teammate Morais won the high scorer trophy. This is a way to say . . . that Angola is tops in Africa for real! Read More »

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To reinforce their teams, countries around the world call for the service of great players with other nationalities to play for them in specific competitions. African countries don’t escape this reality. The presence of some of the best U.S.A. players are in some countries’ teams in order to win the Africa Cup of Nations trophy just now detained by the Angolese team.

Among the American players in this campaign, we have the California-born Errick Davon Craven who is leading the Ivory Coast’s team in Libya 2009. “When they asked me to play with Ivory Coast I refused first, because I was confused,” Errick Davon Craven shared. “I don’t know what they expect from me, then I accept to compete with African athletes and have some new experience.” Tough, hard, very physical…these are words Errick qualified the African players comparing to USA ones whom based their training skills in winning and how to defend. After the competition, Errick has planned to come to play in France (Dijon) where he thinks he’ll get great experience as a professional.

The second biggest town in Libya, Benghazi, has been chosen for the official launching ceremony of the 25th edition of African Cup of Nations. From August 5th thru the 15th, ACN gathers 16 African countries previously qualified in local zone tournaments. This competition is taking place in the two main cities of the country, Tripoli (Capital city) and Benghazi. Group A and B are based in Benghazi while group C and D are established in Tripoli.

For their opening match, the Eagles of Mali played against the Champions of Africa, Angola, and lost 79-74 Read More »

The Zone II basketball tournament is an eight-team qualifying competition played in Bamoko, Mali, which is in the Northwest Region of Africa. The group consists of Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. The tournament allows two teams to advance to the 25th Annual African Nations Cup Basketball Tournament. Cape Verde has already received an invitation and one other team will advance.

The opening match pitted the Malian Eagles against the Senegalese Teranga Lions at the Modibo Keita Basketball Stadium, Friday afternoon. The Mali National team won 69-61, a significant win for the team. The next game is Sunday afternoon. The tournament will determine the second Zone II representative to compete for the African Cup played in Tripoli, Libya, August 5 to 15, 2009.

See: www.fiba-afrique.org

The second edition of the Moussa Kondo Basketball Tournament launched days ago in the Sogoniko Sports Center in Commune VI, Bamako. This tournament has been organized to give opportunity to the youngest ballers who could not participate in the official competitions that the national basketball federation organize each year in Mali such as the National Championship and the Malian’s Cup. Headed by the Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs, Hamane Niang, this second edition gathered thousands of supporters from all around the city to witness the games between teams. We have also created the first official Malian’s Basketball website in the country: www.malibasketball.com . After the official launching ceremony, the teams from Commune VI faced a team composed of some of best players from Senegal, Niger, Congo and Mali. Dressed in white, the guys from Team Africa won their initial game against Commune VI (65-44). Jack Ryan a.k.a Black Jack had some promo items that were handed out to the teams. The final games are planned 2 months later, after the 16-team elimination rounds.

Balls, t-shirts, and sneakers sent by Jack Ryan to Mali

Our correspondent in Mali, Africa, reviews the impact of Jack Ryan on players in the country:

“I tried to explain to them what “Hoop” first means and then “Wizard”…to make it very simple, I send them to Ryan’s website: www.hoopwizard.com so that with videos and images they can understand what he is doing around the world. After touring the site, they could not comment on the videos, particularly the shooting one. Some said, ”How can he do tricks like that…are these things that can be learned?” It has been a great experience for a lot of young men to discover the “Hoop Wizard” and the lessons which are available on the site. Even if they don’t understand exactly what Black Jack was saying in the video, some begin to practice the same moves. The only dream they have one day is to see Jack Ryan a.k.a Black Jack doing his wizard tricks with a ball live and in front of them!

All eyes are turned to the mysterious city of Timbuktu where the 9th Annual Basketball Interleagues is in session. Teams from the other regions of Mali are present for this competition which will last 7 days. The 6 best teams will advance to Kayes (another region) for the “TOP 12″ competition with other qualifying teams from Bamako, the fast-growing capital city of Mali.

This tournament is held in high regard and considered the most important competition all the year. Managers come to give young players contracts and clubs from Bamako come to draft young men for their teams. For the moment in Mali, it’s the northwestern Kayes region that is attracting the most basketball interest.