KTA are still NBL title contenders – Ratšolo Molupe

"KTA All-Stars can still challenge for the NBL title despite slow start"...

Lesotho basketball giants KTA All-Stars didn’t get their 2018/19 National Basketball League (NBL) campaign off to the best start when they suffered a crushing 54-35 defeat to Lichocha Shooting Rifles two weeks ago.

The loss immediately put KTA in catch-up mode in the NBL Northern Conference behind Lichocha and surprise package T98.

This past weekend KTA and the rest of the NBL was not in action because of a Lesotho Basketball Association (LBA) referees course.

The time away gave KTA an opportunity to regroup and identify mistakes and club captain Ratšolo Molupe still believes his side remain genuine championship contenders despite being outplayed by Lichocha in their season opener.

Molupe said the main problem against Lichocha was a bad start which put KTA in a hole.

“We started the first quarter badly and we had a 16-4 deficit which was the game changer,” Molupe said.  

“We played well through the second and third quarter but we started horribly in the first quarter both offensively and defensively. After the first quarter we managed to get a grip of the game but Lichocha’s lead was too deep.”

Falling behind also didn’t suit the methodical style of the experienced KTA squad against the fast pace of the more youthful Lichocha.

“When you are down big the team needs to really play close to perfection to make a comeback and unfortunately we would keep on making mistakes here and there,” Molupe added.

“Time was also not on our side and that really killed our chances.”

KTA, of course, have been the dominant side in Lesotho basketball over the past decade winning four of the last nine NBL titles.

The landscape has changed of late, however, and young sides such as Bokamoso South and Lichocha have risen to steal KTA’s shine. Then there is defending NBL champions Lerotholi Polytechnic who came out of nowhere last season to make a fairy-tale run to the title – their first NBL crown in more than ten years.

All of it makes KTA’s position atop basketball’s food chain more vulnerable than it has ever been. Already KTA haven’t won the title since 2016 and they haven’t even made the NBL Finals for the past two years.

NBL title winners since 2010:

2010 – Rovers 2011 – KTA All-Stars 2012 – Rovers 2013 – KTA All-Stars 2014 – KTA All-Stars 2015 – Bashana Baheso (BBH) 2016 – KTA All-Stars 2017 – Bokamoso South 2018 – Lerotholi Polytechnic

KTA’s battle tested squad also showed signs of aging last season and the opening week loss to Lichocha did little to dispel questions whether KTA can cope with the faster pace of their new rivals – Lichocha, Bokamoso and Lerotholi.

KTA also have a more challenging road to the playoffs this season.

This season the NBL has introduced a two conference system with only two teams from each conference advancing to the playoffs. The form of league new boys T98, the early leaders of the Northern Conference after two wins from two games, makes KTA’s road to the postseason appear even more challenging.

NBL A-Division
Southern Conference	Northern Conference
Lerotholi Polytechnic NUL Rovers Tigers Bokamoso South Mafeteng Roma BBH	Lichocha Shooting Rifles KTA All-Stars Botho University Limkokwing Bokamoso North T98 Khubestate

Molupe, however, insisted KTA still have what it takes to challenge for the NBL title. KTA’s next game is on Friday against T98 at Lehakoe.

“We have a deeper team than last year and we believe we’re still a championship team,” Molupe said.

“We faced tough opponents in our first game and it showed us the areas we need to work on early. We’ll be fine as long as we make the right adjustments.”

Weekend NBL Fixtures:

Friday at Lehakoe:

KTA All-Stars v T98 (18:00)

Saturday at Leshoboro Sports Complex:

09:00 KTA All-Stars v Bokamoso North (A-Division)

10:30 KTA All-Stars v Bokamoso North (Ladies Division)

12:00 Tigers v Mafeteng (A-Division)

13:30 Limkokwing University v Roma (Ladies Division)

15:00 Mafeteng v KTA All-Stars (Ladies Division)

16:30 Roma v BBH (A-Division)

Sunday at LCE:

10:30 Bokamoso North v Tigers (Ladies Division)

12:00 Tigers v Bokamoso South (A-Division)

13:30 Lichocha Shooting Rifles v Mafeteng (Ladies Division)

15:00 Lichocha Shooting Rifles v T98 (A-Division)