NBF names first senior team prospects

The Namibian Basketball Federation (NBF) has named the first 11 players to advance into the country’s senior national team pools following selection trials in Windhoek and Rundu last weekend.

Seven men and one woman were selected from the Khomas trials, while three men progressed from the Kavango leg in Rundu.

The players form part of a preliminary long list from which Namibia’s final senior men’s and women’s squads will eventually be selected.

The federation said further regional trials will be held across the country to ensure players outside Khomas and Kavango are also given an opportunity, with the remaining venues and dates to be announced.

The country is rebuilding the two national teams with a view to entering the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) Africa Zone Six qualifiers for the 2027 Fiba AfroCan and Fiba Women’s AfroBasket.

The Fiba AfroCan is the continental men’s competition primarily aimed at players based at African clubs, while Women’s AfroBasket is Africa’s senior women’s championship. Rwanda has been confirmed as host of the 2027 AfroCan final tournament.

First selections

The Khomas senior men’s selections are Mateus Shikoyeni, Simeon Shikoyeni, Samuel Waendama, Kautjeza Tjirimuje, Ronald Nicol-Wilson, Vetjitiraije Kauami and Titus Ntaagona.

Anna Iimene was the sole player selected from the Khomas senior women’s trials.

Herculano Avelino Pessela, Jocas Wyclef Carvalho and Hausiku Eddy Silva advanced from the Kavango senior men’s trials in Rundu.

The federation’s technical team will continue scouting players during the remaining regional trials before bringing the wider pool together for national training camps.

Senior national team head coach Manuel “Lito” Carballo will then assess the preliminary selections before trimming the respective pools to final 12-player squads for the Southern African qualifiers.

Carballo has previously coached Namibia’s under-16, under-17 and under-20 teams and was appointed to oversee both senior national sides, alongside his role as the federation’s technical director.

Continental return targeted

NBF secretary-general Titus Mwahafa said the federation was determined to have at least one of the senior teams competing internationally, despite the financial demands involved.

“It is a bit costly for the federation, but we have to make sure that we have one or both our teams participating in these competitions,” said Mwahafa.

The federation plans to prioritise its available resources towards preparing the players rather than bidding to host costly international qualifying events.

Training camps will be arranged around the official Fiba competition windows once the wider national pools have been completed.

The NBF has also appealed to corporate sponsors and regional stakeholders to support the senior teams as the federation works towards returning Namibia to continental competition.

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