Your Weekly Dose of FIBA Africa Zone 6 News: Botswana national teams dominate in Lesotho as Angola’s Petro de Luanda make a bold roster move, while Mozambique’s Costa do Sol impressed in their 70th annual tournament, putting on display Southern Africa’s growing basketball strength
Last Updated on
October 4, 2025
Although early, Botswana continues to prepare their national team for the FIBA World Cup Qualifier in November. As part of their preparations, both the men's and women's national teams competed in an exhibition tournament in Maseru, Lesotho, featuring the host nation and the Mangaung Knights from Bloemfontein, South Africa.
On the opening day, the Botswana women's national team dominated Lesotho 59-29. True to form, they went ahead and outclassed the Mangaung Knights 75-41 on Game Day 2. Botswana's Boingotlo Seanoken Podiwho walked away from the tournament with Most Valuable Player (MVP) honours.
In the men's competition, Botswana's dominance remained somewhat consistent. On the opening night, they defeated the hosts, Lesotho, 76-59, in a highly entertaining game that showed great promise for the up-and-coming squad. However, their Game Day 2 clash against the Mangaung Knights' Men's team proved to be a much more difficult matchup, with Botswana winning the low-scoring game, 58-48.
The result was enough to advance them to the finals, where they once again locked horns with the host nation, Lesotho. Unfortunately, for their home fans, Botswana won 77-54 to clinch the tournament title. Yaone Badisang was named MVP for his outstanding performance, as he demonstrated heart, hustle, and class over the weekend. The Botswana national teams returned to Gaborone as champions and continue their preparation on their quest to become a regional powerhouse.
Costa do Sol opened their 70th annual basketball tournament in dominant fashion, defeating Ferroviário de Maputo 85-70 in a repeat of last month’s semifinal clash. The hosts poured in 51 points by halftime, compared to Ferroviário’s 37, and emptied their bench in the third quarter while maintaining control.
With the win, Costa do Sol now turns their focus to upcoming matchups against Maxaquene and Angola’s Sporting Clube de Luanda this weekend.
In the day’s other game, Maxaquene struggled without key players Belton Julio, Emmanuel Shine, Antonio Júnior and the injured Mauro Jino. Sporting Clube de Luanda capitalised, racing to a 48-26 halftime lead before cruising to a commanding 112-48 victory.
Maxaquene are expected to regain Julio and Júnior for the remainder of the tournament, while Sporting will look to extend their dominance and contend for the championship.
Angolan champions Petro de Luanda have continued to bolster their roster ahead of the new season, securing the signing of Milton Valente in a move that has stirred controversy given his previous spell with archrivals Primeiro de Agosto.
Valente was part of the Angolan national team that captured the AfroBasket title over the summer. Known for his athleticism and defensive versatility, the guard brings attributes Petro believes will elevate their championship ambitions. The 24-year-old averaged 7.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals in just 14 minutes per game during the continental tournament, delivering one of its highlights with a thunderous poster dunk against Libya.
His addition follows the recently announced return of fellow Angolan national team star Lukeny Gonçalves, bringing to light the club’s intent to win big domestically and in the upcoming season of the Basketball Africa League.
[Photography and Imagery Courtesy of Courtside Botswana, FIBA and LanceMoz]
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