Cobra Sports qualifies for 2022 African Basketball League

Cobra Sports Club has arrived in Juba after advancing to the Elite 16 East Division and qualifying for the Basketball Africa League 2022 (BAL) for the first time since independence.

The Cobras sealed the position in their recently concluded Africa Club competition in South Africa after winning over New Star of Burundi and Kenyan giants Ulinzi Warriors last week.

The South Sudan Champions made an impressive comeback after losing their first game before the victories over Burundi and Kenya respectively.

As the Juba boys now join the legs of other clubs from Egypt, Tunisia, Angola, Nigeria, Senegal, and Rwanda, Zambia, South Africa, and others in the ANL 2022 finals.

Speaking during their arrival at Juba International Airport (JIA) on Sunday, Alex Tombe, the Cobra Sports team captain, expressed his gratitude to his colleagues for playing as a team in order to make their dreams come true.

He said qualifying for the BAL for the first time was something big for the club as well as the country.

“Yes, we quail for the BAL, but most importantly, I want to express my gratitude to my players, the management of the club, the fans, and everyone in the country for making our dreams come true. I believe without their support, we couldn’t have made it,” Mr Tombe expressed.

The Cobra captain added that it was the team spirit that made his club earn an impressive win and qualify for the BAL 2022.

“We got it tough in the first game because in the first game our team spirit was not all that strong, but we made it in the second game when we managed to put the team together.”

“So, we are happy and everyone is happy because we won it and we are going to participate in next year’s BAL. I think it is important for every basketball lover,” he added.

Meanwhile, John Jevish Omondi, the Cobra Sports Club head coach, said it was the first part of the club’s mission which he thanked the players for making it in the competition.

“Yeah, it has been a journey that started all the way from the qualifiers, which was from Tanzania and rapping up to South Africa. What I can say is that we really had a mission. The mission was to qualify for BAL and now the mission has been accomplished.

“The boys are very focused, although we lost a couple of games, it was just the learning experience that enabled us not to progress in the first round, but all in all, the boys learned and did what was expected of them,” he said.

In September 2021, the Cobra Sports Basketball Club (CSBC) signed John Jevish Omondi as their new head coach. Omondi, a 39-year-old Kenyan, has served as the coach of Ndejje University in Uganda.

In his statement to the media, while signing this year’s contract with the club, he promised to do his best in order to move the team to another level.

“My presence on [the] team is not new to me, nor is the game of basketball, nor is Cobra Basketball Club a large club.”The team has young, talented boys and it’s interesting, so my being here is something good for me,” Mr Omondi said.

“I am here to work with the team and see how best they can compete with the other teams in the country, but most importantly, to perform outside the territory,” while he inks his contract.

He said whenever the club has a good vision and goals, accomplishing the mission will be possible.

“I know the club has a good vision for the team, and I would have to be part of that vision and take the club to the next level. I hope my one-year contract with the club is going to be good and positive. “

Cobra Basketball Club is a South Sudanese basketball team based in Juba, South Sudan, and has been in existence since 2017.

In 2020, Cobra played in its first continental games when it participated in the qualifiers for the 2020 BAL season. Cobra played in Group F in Antananarivo and ended in third place, missing out on advancing to the next round.