Masupha invited for NBA finals
NTHAKO MAJORO
MASERU – Top Lesotho basketball coach, Fako Masupha has been invited for the Royal Bafokeng Jr. (Junior) NBA league finals, which take place this Saturday in Rustenburg, South Africa. NBA (the National Basketball Association) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams.
It is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier basketball league in the world. The Royal Bafokeng Jr. NBA is an extension academy of the NBA.
Masupha’s VIP invitation is inclusive of a gala dinner taking place tonight, to be graced by some of the NBA legends from the United States. “I have been invited by the NBA for a gala dinner on Friday and again for the Royal Bafokeng Junior NBA league finals on Saturday,” he said in an interview with Public Eye on Tuesday.
Masupha will not be alone from Lesotho. He has been invited together with some of the under-20 players from his academy, Bokamoso Basketball Club. He said the players were expected to arrive in Rustenburg yesterday (Thursday), while he is leaving today.
“Those under-20 players have been invited for the NBA finals so that they could learn,” he said. Masupha received the invitation for both the NBA gala dinner and finals after he re-joined the South African professional basketball club, Eastern Cape Windbreakers, as the head coach four months ago.
As the Eastern Cape Windbreakers’ main coach, Masupha offered professional contracts to some of the players produced by the Royal Bafokeng NBA academy. One of those players is Olebohang Matabane, who is now one of the top players in South Africa. “In fact, Matabane is the one who initiated my invitation, and I must say that this is because he respected me as a coach,” Masupha said.
“So in a nutshell, I have been invited as the Eastern Cape Windbreakers coach, and of course this is after my club hired some of their players at the professional level.” Masupha said he had already talked to one of the Royal Bafokeng NBA managers about chances of having the same NBA academy in Lesotho.
“My dream is to see NBA coming to Lesotho one day so that in the future our players could have an opportunity to play in the United States, and there is still hope for something better for this country.”
Masupha is the former president of the Lesotho Basketball Association (LBA). Before then, he led the national under-20 basketball women’s team (as a coach) to the Supreme Council of Sports in Africa (SCASA) Region 5 Youth Games, which were held in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, in 2014.
