POSTED BY: Eurobasket Center
The Namibian under-20 men's coach Celentino Antonio thinks Namibia will do better than their eighth place in the 2004 Youth Games held in Mozambique.
Antonio was speaking to Nampa during his team's daily training session at the Independence Arena in Katutura on Wednesday.
Although Namibia ended second last in the first Zone Six Youth Games, the eventual winners Angola told him (Antonio) that Namibia was one of the fastest teams they have played during the competition in Maputo, said Antonio.
This year the Namibian men's team is much faster than the one in 2004 because they have had more time to train and their fitness level is better, he noted.
Said Antonio: 'I think we can perform better. We will not win (the competition) but I can see us winning a game or two.'
The team of 15 young men regrouped again on Sunday to continue where they left off from their first training camp in May.
According to Antonio his team is not very big, but what they lack in size, they make up in their speed and fitness.
However, Antonio said they could do with more time, saying the one training session per day is not enough.
Most of the players are still in school and he only practice with six boys, who do not attend school, in the morning.
At the moment he was teaching them the technical aspects of the game like improving their shots and lay-ups.
The first training camp in May mainly focused on fitness, he said.
Antonio added that three of the boys play for Khomas Association League teams, which helps with competition experience while one represented the country in Mozambique in 2004.
On the other hand, the women's coach Olga Hernandez was not too sure of her team's performance during the Youth Games.
Hernandez told Nampa that the time for training is not enough as she still need to teach the girls a lot.
Their fitness level is on standard but some are struggling to grasp the technique, she said.
Seven of her girls play in the Khomas League while four played in the Namibian team that ended fifth out of seven countries in Mozambique in 2004.
Namibia's boys will play against Angola in their first match of the competition on 27 June, while the girls will play against Zambia.
