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Game 2: South Africa U21 99 vs. România U21 118 (60100)

Record: 0-2

Standing: Currently 6th place
(Note: In this initial Round Robin of games, the top 4 of 6 teams on each side will advance after each team has played one another.)

We gave it everything we had in this one and it just wasn't enough. While we were able to become the African U21 Champions, there's still another level we have to reach to compete at the World stage.

- 20-year-olds Thikhathali Zibi and Shafilshuna Machemko came out firing as they poured in 33 and 23 points respectively. These two studs are already showing how talented they are and hope to display it even further next season.
- Zibi and Derek Dingane both had double-doubles as their grit wrangled the rebounding advantage away against Romania's 8 power forwards and centers, all with salaries over 15k.
- While the team's offense was keeping pace for much of the game, the team's defense once again struggled, particularly against an inside-oriented offense from a superior team.
- Somehow Romania shot 42 free throws in the game compared to our 10 for the game. We're hoping the referees give us a little more respect next season.

Player of the Game: Thikhathali Zibi (48727515) trained by A Warrior


This will most likely be my last update for this season. We face stronger teams the rest of the way so I realistically don't believe we'll have another chance at a win. We did our best to try and pull a win off against the two comparatively weaker teams in our group but our team just isn't strong enough yet. I will now shift my focus to connecting with trainers and developing the pipeline for future seasons. I am hoping to run for at least another term as the U21 manager, if you all would have me, but either way, I'll do my best to make sure that future U21 players are being trained to give us the best chance each season.

In some exciting news, you may have seen it already in the midseason news but there will be more South African trainees that should be joining the ranks through Utopia teams next season! This does benefit us as well as other African nations but it'll be great to have a deeper pool of trainees.

On a related pipeline note, I recognize that we may have a number of South African teams going bot in the coming weeks, which mean there'll be some South African prospects hitting the market for those that are interested. I'll be sure to make a post about them when that happens too.

Thanks for the news. :)

Will have 1 or 2 spots this / next season

The official season is over for the South African U21 and we're ready to move forward to what's next. We'll schedule scrimmages and continue to train players for future seasons.

One bright spot from this season is that I was able to recruit multiple managers who are interested in investing in South African players coming out of the next draft. This may give us our best chance possible at someday being a little more competitive in a future world tournament so if you're able to invest at all in the draft this upcoming season, that'd be greatly appreciated as it'll be a team effort on everyone's part to help the team reach new heights.

Good news. Fingers crossed for some high potential rookies.

With the teams' final scrimmage having been played, we take a look back at Season 53. While the team was unable to pull off a regular-season win against very tough competition in the World Tournament, they played well in scrimmages and gained valuable experience. Training plans were also further developed so players would be ready for the upcoming season.

Accomplishments
- We tried our best to cause an upset in the first game of the World Tournament (60098) but fell short despite using more enthusiasm and getting a correct double-guess. We hope to someday be victorious in matches at the World Tournament.
- Point guard Elphus Siamusiye (48754191), one of my trainees, ends his tenure with the U21 team on a high note, leading the team in assists (54) and coming in 2nd in points (223) for the season. He ranks 8th in All-Time Total Points (547) and is tied for 5th in All-Time Total Assists (148) in South Africa U21 history. He now sets his sights on training to someday represent South Africa at the National Team level.
- The ever-versatile Derek Dingane (48405795), trained by Lesley 1226, also concludes a successful stint on the U21 team tied for 6th most performances (42) for the U21 team. This season he led the team in rebounds (89) and was 2nd in assists (50). During his team with the Baby Boks, Dingane showed what a great player he was by having played in every position for the team.
- 20-year-old Superstar Shafilshuna Machemko (48727512) was the team's leading scorer (347) and was 3rd in assists (26) this season. The youngster has already broken into the record book ranking 5th in All-Time Total Points (576) and having the 4th highest scoring U21 season (347). He looks to continue to improve his skills and further his ascent in the record books.
- Thikhathali Zibi (48727515), also 20-years old, was 3rd for the team in both points (192) and rebounds (78) this season. He looks to play an important role for next season's squad as well.
- Big man, Lizwelicha Legodi (48727506), trained by FeelThePressure, rounds out our top performers this season as he ended the season as the team's 2nd leading rebounder (87). A late-season injury kept Legs from climbing higher on the list.

Special thanks to our trainers for the team this season - boksburg, Cabrusan, DonnyTheWay, Ebene5, FeellThePressure, Lesley1226, maniac77, mathew13693 and Sandy!

This upcoming draft class may be a historic one as the dual citizenship from Utopia will introduce more South African players than ever before and several new managers were recruited to help train players for future teams. So please, invest in the draft and either train or sell your draftees!

Now the team looks forward to defending our title as Africa's reigning U21 champions.