South Africa claim third-place finish at BRICS Games 2017
JOHANNESBURG (FIBA AfroBasket 2017) - Two months after sealing a historic qualification for the FIBA AfroBasket 2017, South Africa are celebrating again.
In April, the Proteas beat Zimbabwe 142-137 on aggregate in Johannesburg to return to the 16-team FIBA AfroBasket for the first time since 2011.
This time, however, Craig Gilchrist's team stormed into the Chinese city of Guangzhou to beat India 88-75 in the Third-Place Game of the inaugural BRICS Games 2017.
We are incredibly proud of our boys bagging bronze at the #BRICSGames2017 Well done @BasketBall_RSA.Your resilience is inspiring.#ReachFWD pic.twitter.com/pWMtxxNPQF
— #reachFWD (@Reach_Sports) June 21, 2017
The win followed losses to China (91-60) and BRICS Games 2017 champions Russia (74-45).
South Africa's BRICS Games 2017 campaign couldn't have been any better for a team looking to make a splash at this year's FIBA AfroBasket, which is expected to take place in September.
LATEST: Team @BasketBall_RSA have arrived home safely from China. They came out 3rd in the #BRICSGames2017
— Click Media Prod🇿🇦 (@ClickMediaProd) June 22, 2017
The bronze medals are home. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/7rJBVIcIk1
The launch of the BRICS Games run from June 17-21, and it's set to rotate amongst all its member countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). It aims "to provide a sound atmosphere for BRICS cooperation to strengthen relations and promote sport."
FIBA
