By SAMUEL LUKHANDA –
ZAMBIA national team basketball coach Obert Shamboko is counting on his foreign based stars of Patson Siame, Arthur Zulu, Given Kalipinde and Chansa Mufwaume to carry the team when they head to the World Indigenous Basketball Challenge in Vancouver, Canada.
Meanwhile, lack of training facilities forced coach Shamboko to delay the naming of the final squad he intends to take to Canada for the challenge.
Shamboko said they will have a morning session today at Zamsure Sports complex but it was difficult to find a court for the team to work out on.
He said he needed two sessions to have a look at the players as they have been off season hence the delay to name the travelling party.
The Matero Magic coach will be assisted by Jamal Atkins in ensuring that they get the players ready for the Canada challenge.
Shamboko needs to trim the 18 man squad he called up to nine to accommodate the foreign based players to add depth to his team.
The US based trio of Patson Siame, Arthur Zulu and Given Kalipinde are guaranteed a spot, so is Chansa Mufwaume who is based in China.
The tournament is slated for August 9 – 13.
