PORT-LOUIS (Mauritius) - For the coming days, the tiny village of Roche-Bois, in the suburb of the Mauritian capital city of Port-Louis, will follow and cheers for its heroes, the Roche-Bois Warriors, who will compete in their first-ever international tournament.

And it happens to be the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Qualifiers.

Founded in early 2000, the club has only been crowned champions of the tiny island, more famous for its beaches and its sun, than it is for its basketball.

But still, in the 2019-2020 run, they wrote the most beautiful part of their history when they overcame arch-rivals Real and Mahebourg Flippers.

Since then, they have been dreaming about the BAL: "It's like a dream come true. We've been watching the qualifiers on the Internet and watched the final stage on the TV. And all the players have been telling me that their sole wish was to be there, among those African players," recalls coach Jerome Tonta, one of the founding players of the club.

But the pandemic hit. "It only postponed our dream and made it harder for us. But our motivation is the same." 

So much so that when the players knew they would be going to Johannesburg, South Africa, for the Group F of the BAL Qualifiers, they were over the moon.

"The whole team was even more motivated. We're out to make the most out of every second on the court", says coach Tonta.

So, now that they are on their way to the Qualifiers, comes the question of their objective.

In fact, the Roche-Bois Warriors sport a rather young roster. Some of them discovered the African level in 2017, when Mauritius hosted the FIBA U16 African Championship.

"This is the chance for the youth. They will meet with something most of them have never experienced before." But the 34-year-old coach sees things the other way round. Youth is not a handicap. "We need to be clear about it: they will get some experience and it will only be good for them. I see it as an opportunity for them, rather than a handicap for the team," claims Tonta.

But the more he thinks of it, the more he is convinced that this first appearance at what is considered as Africa's premier tournament for clubs can only be beneficial to the Warriors. They are to face the Cape Town Tigers, Ferroviario da Beira, Matero Magic, and Mercenaries in Group F.

"To be honest, we know that the games are going to be tough, or even tougher than expected. But we are going to see how we can use these games to level up. The gap between our opponents might be huge, but we must all start somewhere," adds the coach.

The Warriors have been training for the past week, emphasizing physical strength to compensate for what they might be lacking. "We are going to take each game at a time, keeping in mind that we are going to learn new techniques and see some skills. Finally, the whole aim could be to watch and learn about basketball." 

Whatever the outcome, the Roche-Bois Warriors will look at their appearance as an achievement. "We never got to go to the FIBA Africa Zone 7 Championships back then. And for our first international tournament, we are going straight to the continent. This is what makes it special for us and for our fans back home. We are going to live every minute of it," concludes coach Tonta.

FIBA