'New' Madibaz emerge from doldrums to win basketball league

The Madibaz women’s team were crowned the 2025 Nelson Mandela Bay Basketball Association champions after beating long-time rivals Gemineyez in the final.

The Madibaz women emerged from the doldrums to sail to the top of the pile at the Nelson Mandela Bay Basketball Association championships this year.

Led by captain Clamentine Nkuna, the Mandela University team defeated longstanding rivals Gemineyez in the final to unexpectedly snatch the title that has evaded them in recent times.

Following several years of merely staying afloat, head coach Moreblessing Ngwenya described their voyage to league honours as “punching above our weight”.

“Over the past two years the team have struggled and my main goal when I stepped in was to make the women’s team relevant again,” the former Madibaz captain said.

“Naturally, we strive to win all our matches and it’s good to see my alma mater back at the top in our province.”

Ngwenya said the former champions’ march to the trophy did not come without its complications. They had to fight back after suffering early losses to Fort Hare and Gemineyez.

“We didn’t really perform that well in the round-robin stage of the league but, when we got to the semifinals, we saw it as an opportunity to be seized.”

The Madibaz showed perseverance and cohesion in first eliminating Fort Hare 27-19 in their last-four encounter and then avenging their earlier defeat to Gemineyez to beat them 47-32 in the championship game.

It was a particularly satisfying result as they had also gotten the better of Gemineyez in the final of the Zanele “Doopsy” Memorial tournament in May – a game in which Madibaz’s Setha Shezi was named MVP.

“I think when we made it to the league final, we knew we had a chance to go all the way,” Ngwenya said.

The Madibaz showed glimpses of their old self when they finished runners-up in the NMB Mayoral Cup in their first tournament of the season.

That created a sense of anticipation for what was largely a “new” team, Ngwenya said.

“After several training sessions together, we were enthusiastic about evaluating our teamwork in a real-match scenario.”

The Mayoral Cup gave most of the answers. Although they still needed to make more progress, the players had exuded considerable potential and an appetite to compete.

The Madibaz mentor praised the chemistry created by the starting five of Nkuna, vice-captain Shadi Molope, Shezi, Noluthando Yaka and Paballo Rampou.

“Our major asset was that everyone worked so well together. Everyone understood their role and excelled in it. It’s hard finding that sort of balance and cohesion in basketball.”

Ngwenya believes their success will have spin-offs for the sport at the institution.

“It’s a great achievement, especially with our relatively small numbers. We hope it will inspire more women to join us, share in these victories and help us grow the game.”