RSA - Mndaweni, Dlamini and Madondo too much for the Tuskers...

JOHANNESBURG (PBL) - This past weekend the Kwazulu Marlins received some much needed firepower when lightning quick shooting guard Lowell Mndaweni, smooth as silk power forward Vusi Dlamini and hard-working point guard Manny Madondo all made their first appearance for the team. Missing from the line-up for the Marlins however was veteran center Craig Gilchrist, who was in France for training.

He will be playing for the Marlins once he returns from overseas.

The last time the Marlins and Tuskers played each other on the 17th of November 2006 at the YMCA in Pietermaritzburg, Lowell Mndaweni, Vusi Dlamini, and Craig Gilchrist were doing South Africa proud at the African Nations Cup in Lagos playing for ESPN/And 1.

Manny Madondo was in London at the time and just recently returned to South Africa.

The Marlins lost their first game to the Tuskers, 76-69 in the opening game of the 4 month long Professional Basketball League season. The Marlins played with very inexperienced players in that first game and it showed down the stretch.

This past Saturday the Marlins were a completely different team. They had an experienced point guard, Manny Madondo, who ran the plays, as cool as a cucumber, under a lot of pressure from Mtu Zulu from the Tuskers.

More than anything the inside presence courtesy of Vusi Dlamini and streaky offensive runs from Lowell Mndaweni, was a breath of fresh air for the Marlins fans.

Dlamini established his dominance in the paint early with 7 of the Marlins 18 points in the first quarter.

Tuskers' big men Linda Sibankulu and Ryan Mcfie couldn't keep up with Dlamini who can hit the mid-range jumper and post up as good as any forward in the league.

Cyril Shabalala of the Tuskers came out blazing with 12 points including two 3 pointers in the first quarter. The Tuskers had a five point lead at the end of the 1st Quarter, leading 23-18.

In the second quarter Mndaweni woke up and smelt the coffee on the offensive end. Him and Dlamini combined for 17 points in the second quarter to give the Marlins a 3 point lead at half-time, 46-43.

Manny Madondo didn't do much offensively but his composure on set plays allowed the Marlins to run their offense without much disruption.

Mndaweni's 11 points in the third led to the Tuskers collapse. The Tuskers couldn't stop Mndaweni's on the drive and were lame on transition defense.

By the end of the Third, the Marlins had established a 15 point lead.

By the time the fourth quarter came around the game was in the bag and Marlins coach Myles Delport was able to give his bench some time on the court. Coach Darren Holcomb had run out of ideas and by the time the final buzzer rang the Tuskers had lost the game 84-68.

Dlamini finished the game with 19, Mndaweni had 20 and the lone offensive challenger from the Tuskers was Linda Sibankulu who ended the game with 18 points.

In the other PBL fixtures around the country the Johannesburg Olympians upset the Tswhane Suns, who were without their star big man Djo Yele because of a shoulder injury, by a single point 78-77 at Mandeville in Johannesburg.

And in Cape Town the Cape Town Kings took out the wingless Cape Town Eagles, for the second time at the University of Cape Town indoor hall, with a score line of 72-68.

Catch the PBL in association with Sprite, this week in Cape Town on Saturday the 20th of January at UCT when the Eagles take on the Marlins at 15h00, the Kings play the Tuskers immediately afterwards at 17h30.

In Johannesburg at Mandeville the Egoli Magic play the Tshwane Suns at 15h00 and the undefeated Soweto Panthers play the Johannesburg Olympians immediately afterwards at 17h30. O
n Sunday the 21st of January also at the University of Cape Town indoor hall, the Kwazulu Marlins take on the Cape Town Kings at 13h00 and the Pietermaritzburg Tuskers play the Cape Town Eagles at 15h30.

For highlights of all the action from this past weekend's games in Pietermaritzburg catch the Sprite Basketball Show on Superport 2 at 8pm on Wednesday night.

Tshepo Ditshego
Official FIBA Correspondent in South Africa