Written by Illythehost, Images by @TheBAL

Each and every team’s dream while competing in the Nile Conference was to see themselves playing in Kigali later this month. And Cape Town franchise, the Tigers, have achieved that. They will raise the South African flag as they head to Kigali for the playoffs.

This is after a stellar performance from Samkelo Cele who managed to score 28 points to help the Tigers progress to the Basketball Africa League playoffs. His competitive spirit and will to win was on display as he outshone the Oilers defence throughout the game.

Cape Town Tigers star players Joshua Hall, Zaire Wade and Evans Ganapamo didn’t partake in this game due to some health issues, but that didn’t stop the experienced Lepasa, Prinsloo and Cele from carrying the team.

Other teams which were part of the Nile Conference and who are also heading to Kigali are Al Ahly, Petro de Luanda and Ferroviario da Beira. They join the winners of the Sahara Conference at Kigali’s BK Arena to battle it out for the BAL championship from 20 – 27 May.

Playoffs fixtures:

Petro de Luanda vs ABC Fighters

Al Ahly vs R.E.G

Stade Malien vs Cape Town Tigers

AS Douanes vs Ferroviario da Beira

The question remains; who’s going to win BAL 2023?

See you all in Kigali! Follow the action on the HYPE magazine website. 

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Written by illythehost,

Images: Shutterstock

Behind every successful team, there’s a coach who plans everything before the game and makes sure his players are mentally prepared and physically fit. And how coaches lead their teams in the current playoffs will naturally influence the behaviour of their players.  Look at teams in the current NBA playoffs and their coaches: the Kings ran circles around the Warriors, and the Philadelphia 76ers are taking a 2-0 lead to game three.

Six years ago, Mike Brown was an assistant coach at the Golden State Warriors. Looking at his approach to the game, and what he has done in his first year as the head coach of the Kings, you can tell he was the brains behind the Golden State Warriors wins all along.

Brown started the game with Sabonis, Barnes, Murray, Fox and Huerter. Together they managed 78 points. The remaining 36 came from the bench (Monk, Mitchell and Len). The defending champions looked confused and weren’t the same Warriors we knew back when Mike Brown was part of the coaching staff there. Now the question remains: is Kerr a good coach or did he rely on Mike’s brain and knowledge regarding basketball and its tactics?

Playoff newcomers, the Kings won 114-106, walking over the Warriors to stretch the series to 2-0. Fox was the man of the show again, but this time he had Sabonis who made it hard for Green to even finish the game as he got ejected for stomping over Sabonis’s chest in the fourth quarter.  Mike Brown said Sabonis was undergoing x-rays to check if there was any serious damage because they need his strength and play come game three. As it stands, the Sacramento Kings are the team most likely to win this series and progress to the next round.

The Philadelphia 76ers once again proved that they’re a great team, with exciting play and a good coach. Talking about coaches, you can easily tell that Doc Rivers and his boys’ relationship is based on trust, confidence, and communication. Their focus and determination throughout the game show how they listen to their coach. The 25th head coach in 76ers history, Glenn ‘Doc’ Rivers who took over the hot seat from Brett White in October 2022, is continuing to transfer his creative intelligence and experience to his players. The Brooklyn Nets shifted their focus on Embiid and Harden, but Rivers knew he had Maxey and Harris who could also deliver when it mattered. This is the coach I believe can take this team far in the playoffs if he doesn’t drop the ball (like he did back in Los Angeles). Maxey confidently dropped six 3-pointers and scored 33 points, Embiid and Harris had 20 with Harden managing eight. The Philadelphia 76ers trumped the Brooklyn Nets 96-84 taking the series lead to 2-0.

Keep on checking HYPE’s website and socials for more updates on the NBA playoffs. To suggest what you want to see in future regarding basketball email me at illythehost@hypemagazine.co.za!

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Written by Illythehost

Images: @nba,@sacramentokings, @warriors

The Sacramento Kings finally registered their first #NBAplayoffs win almost two decades later by beating the Golden State Warriors. The Kings take a 1-0 series lead with De’Aaron Fox registering 38 points and Malik Monk 32 points in their playoffs debut.

“I think his game is built for stages like this… there’s nothing in the offensive end that he can’t do,” Fox said of Monk after their historic win. The two played an important role when the team edged 2022 NBA champions GSW by 126-123. The last time Sacramento Kings won a playoff game was back in 2006. Prior to the playoff games, not many believed that the team would take the win considering the fact that they were going to face the defending champions – and the team which is the favourite to win the current season – but if you’re a real basketball fan and you’ve been watching basketball from their first game earlier this season, you’ll notice that they’re just doing what they’ve done all season long.

In Boston, Celtics saw off Hawks 112-99 with Tatum and Brown scoring 54 points combined. The third quarter belonged to The Hawks. They outscored last season’s finalists 31-20, but all that didn’t matter as Boston Celtics won the overall game taking a lead into game two. Jayson Tatum and Celtics are continuing the quest of clinching their 18th championship, which is being sought by the franchise.

Philadelphia 76ers went head-to-head with the Brooklyn Nets as they started their playoffs series games. 33-year-old James Harden showed his former bosses why they made a mistake by letting him go. His signature STEP-BACK was on display as he hit seven three pointers and thirteen assists to help the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Nets 121-101, as they try to win their first NBA championship in 40 years. In the case that you want to know how and where to stream the playoffs when they come around, click here for a NBA stream guide from hotdog.com

Follow HYPE magazine for more #NBAplayoff updates.

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After a thrilling play-in, we get ready for the playoffs, starting this weekend

Written by Illythehost

The 77th NBA regular season closed its chapter on Sunday after 82 games played between October 2022 and April 2023, but the LA Lakers were still in the dark and uncertain about their playoffs spot.

All the focus was on the Western Conference games, and you’d best believe the teams delivered more than what basketball fanatics were expecting! Golden State Warriors made a huge statement and showed off their greatness by demolishing Portland Trail Blazers 157-101, with 55 points scored in the first quarter of the match; an NBA record.

The LA Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves play-in tournament game on Wednesday ended in a 108-102 win for the Lakers, with Anthony Davis managing 24 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks to help his team to victory. What seemed to be an impossible task at the crypto.com arena for the LA franchise finally became a thing of the past after their hard-fought overtime win. Lebron James showed why he is so important to the team, and Dennis and Reaves played a major part – teamwork, in this case, really did make the dream work.

There was drama courtside on Sunday when the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert threw punches at his teammate Kyle Anderson; something which subsequently saw him sent home by senior management and suspended from the team. Despite this, the Timberwolves were a difficult team to beat, leading the Lakers by 17 points at one stage. After the thrilling game, the Lakers move forward into the playoffs, where they will face the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Denver Nuggets occupied the number one spot in the Western Conference with 53 wins. The Grizzlies settled for the second seed, with the Sacramento Kings surprisingly owning third position, meaning they’ll play the defending champions Golden State Warriors come the playoffs. The fourth and fifth teams are the Phoenix Suns and the LA Clippers.

The 2023 playoffs start this Saturday and will certainly come with surprises. Follow HYPE magazine for more NBA updates.

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Written by Illythehost, Images by @TheBAL

It was thought that defending champs US Monastir had won the Sahara conference before they even set foot on the court… With a team stacked with experienced players for this season of BAL, no one imagined that they would be knocked out by Stade Malien, way before the playoffs! Such is the beauty of the game. And most importantly: we are going to have a new champion. So, let’s go through the teams which qualified to the next round to meet up with NILE Conference best four.

Topping the Conference is Stade Malien (@blancsdebamako) who started this season with a loss against Tunisian giants and BAL defending champions, US Monastir.  Stade Malien ended the Conference with three wins and two losses, beating Abidjan Basket Club (A), Rwanda Energy Group (H) and Kwara Falcons Basketball Club (A). Beating the defending champions was going to be hard as they were THE team to beat this season again, as Zeus (Botswanan legendary rapper and entrepreneur) mentioned on Twitter. Competitive as US Monastir were, they didn’t make it to the playoffs spot which makes our basketball all the more interesting. Souleymane Berthe turned out to be Stade Malien’s star player, averaging 20.4 points per game, 3.8 assists per game and 2.2 steals. He was definitely leading by example and is a player to watch going forward.

Number two from the Conference is Association Sportive des Douanes, better known as AS Douanes (@asdouanesbasket), the Senegalese outfit which kick-started the season with back-to-back losses against Ivorian ABC and Rwanda Energy Group. But in game three they really surprised everyone by beating Stade Malien (H) 74-58, and then followed up with another comfortable win beating the Nigerian giants Kwara Falcons. They wrapped their fifth game up by knocking out the defending champions US Monastir. Their leading man, Chris Crawford, averaged 20 points per game, but overall, we can’t pick an individual player as being the best. It was most definitely a team effort. We must, however, congratulate Mouhamadou Diagne, who walked away with @WilsonBasktball Play of the Game for that massive dunk during AS Douanes’ game against US Monastir.  We are looking forward to seeing more of this team during the playoffs. 

Occupying third spot is Rwanda Energy Group, (@regbbcofficial), the most entertaining team throughout the tournament. It’s true when they say you can’t judge a team by looking at their players on paper. We didn’t even see this team making it to the last four (playoffs), but their teamwork and resilience surprised many basketball fans across the continent. They actually started off with three straight wins, and their last game was a close call, losing 79-84 to the team which, on paper, we thought would win the conference. But, guess what… You don’t win a basketball match on paper but on the court. Cleveland Joseph Thomas Jr. and Adonis Filer averaged 16 points per game and were the two with the most assists. We are interested to see how different they will be during the playoffs with those sold-out arenas and crowds cheering them. 

The fourth and final club to qualify for the playoffs is from Ivory Coast, and the only team led by a lady: ABC Fighters (@ABC_Fighters). Head coach Liz Mills has only been with the Ivorian team since December 2022, but watching them play showed us a different ball game. Amadou Abdoulaye Harouna, the team’s leadsman carried this team until their last game when they lost to Stade Malien (H), but that didn’t affect their standing in the conference.

With the first four spots now occupied, we wait for the Nile Conference four to add up the teams, then we head to the playoffs to see who emerges as the best of the best from both conferences…

The question remains; who’s going to win BAL 2023?

 Follow the action on the HYPE magazine website. And follow these handles on Twitter: @HypeMagazineSA, @TheBAL, @NBA_Africa, @ESPNAfrica, ABC_Fighters, @asdouanesbasket, @regbbcofficial, @blancsdebamako, @WilsonBasktball and @Hennessey.

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The reality show will explore what makes Thando a household name on and off screen, and how she owns her throne in her day-to-day life away from the mic and the movie cameras, revealing in the process just why this multi-talented young woman has become a much-loved role model to her tribe.

The qualified accountant turned award-winning entertainment personality and business woman will invite viewers into her world as she navigates the demands of being a professional woman in a fast-paced industry, while the cameras document her every move.

“I’m no stranger to the cameras, but a reality show is a completely different ball game! I’m beyond excited to bring viewers into my world, showing them who the real Thando is and what she does away from the public eye.” says Thando.

This show is especially dear to my heart as it is my debut as an executive producer under Redwood Productions, which I co-own with Tumi Maimela. My wish is that Unstoppable Thabooty inspires young Black people in particular to know their worth and seize their power.” she concludes.

Unstoppable Thabooty airs exclusively on BET (channel 129 on DStv) from 15 April at 19:30. Repeats Sundays at 18:00.

Watch Unstoppable Thabooty Trailer

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Come tomorrow, the new Basketball Africa League is resuming with a bang with the Sahara Conference group phase. The first game is between the debuting Abidjan Basket Club Fighters (Cote d’Ivoire) and hosts of the Sahara Conference, AS Douanes (Senegal). Other teams which will be fighting to pass the group stages are Rwanda Energy Group (Rwanda), US Monastir (Tunisia), Stade Malien (Mali) and Kwara Falcons (Nigeria). All Sahara Conference group stages will take place in the Dakar Arena in the Senegalese capital.  There will be 15 games played each conference, then the last four per conference will advance to the 2023 BAL Playoffs. The last two respectively will play the Finals.

It’s just a matter of time till we crown one team the new champions of the BAL. But the question remains: is US Monastir able to defend their championship or we going to crown a brand new champion? Are we going to have the best officials ever, or we going to have NBA kind of refs with wrong decisions and no accountability? This is the season to put African basketball on the world map. We are already having members of G-League flocking to the African league to add onto the skills we already have and make it more competitive. Teams are investing so much in players and facilities, and owners are making sure we get quality players from all over the world and quality from their respective countries.

BAL PLAYERS TO WATCH

Like any team that is willing to win the championship, they’ll do anything within their budget and powers to beef up their rosters prior to the season. With Hennessy and Wilson being the sponsors, you know the stakes are high. So, let’s look into the debutants of the Basketball African League and the players we should watch.

CHECK OUT: All eyes on the Basketball African League

The Kwara Falcons, is a team from Nigeria, based in Ilorin, Kwara. They play in the Nigerian Premier League and qualified for the BAL after winning the NBBF Final 8 tournament in their home country. This is a team to watch, as we know that Nigerians are very competitive when it comes to any sport. They’ll be travelling to Dakar, Senegal in March to represent Nigeria at the third edition of the BAL tournament.  Recently they have signed three additional players to boost the squad ahead of their first game.

Michael Kolawole who played one season at Lamar Cardinals. Between 2015-2017 he was playing for UIC Flames, which is the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois in Chicago.

Jeremiah Mordi, a Nigerian professional basketball player, with NBA G League experience to add to the Falcons Locker room, played lot of college basketball, like any baller whose dream it is to make it to the NBA. He recorded 16 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists on average (23.4 efficiency) while playing for Moncton Magic (Canadian professional basketball team based in Moncton, New Brunswick). He is a player to watch and capable of taking the Falcons all the way to the finals.

Coach to watch

So many teams have a point to prove. Some just want to experience the competitiveness, while others want to leave a mark! The Abidjan Basket Club Fighters from the Ivory Coast is the most successful men’s team in the country, with 19 national championships won, and one continental FIBA Africa Champions Cup in 2005. Now the big question is: can they transfer all that energy to BAL?

Can 20 years of coaching experience by Australian-born coach Liz Mills take them all the way to the BAL finals and see them crowned as the new champions? Liz is the first-ever female head coach in the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Liz has only been with the Ivorian team since December 2022, who earlier qualified for the 2023 BAL season.

Follow HYPE magazine for more BAL Information. See which games are happening when here!

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The device garnered praise from all attending the event held on the 2^rd of March 2023, each attesting to its power and functionality. The camera was the stand-out feature for the group.

Mobicel brand ambassador Bonginkosi Dlamini, popularly known as Zola 7, said: “The VX20 is yet another gamechanger from Mobicel. It makes world-class technology affordable for all South Africans and has the potential to empower up-and-coming content creators with the tools to establish careers in the social media space.”

South Africans Deserve Better

Upon launching the brand in 2007, the smartphone market was saturated with imported devices far out of reach financially for the average South African. Identifying a gap in the market for an affordable cellular brand, Mobicel was determined to bring accessible mobile connectivity to that market – at a fraction of the cost of established global manufacturers.

The company pioneers proudly South African, high-innovation devices that incorporate global technological trends like accessibility, connectivity, and design into a price-competitive package affordable to all in the local smartphone market.

“After 15 years of delivering inexpensive, quality devices to South Africans, the VX20 is our next launch point into bringing the form and functionality of top-tier global devices into a package that more people can afford. This is part of our ethos to ‘be more’, which enshrines our commitment to keep all South Africans connected through high-quality technology at the most affordable prices. This device will better enable South Africans to be, do and have more. More efficiency, more mobility, more productivity, and more freedom,” said Ridhwan Khan, CEO of Mobicel.

The Mobicel VX20 LTE

The VX20 LTE smartphone combines innovative technology with a sleek, modern design. The device is the first to boast Mobicel’s all-new 48-megapixel AI camera which intelligently optimizes objects or scenery, allowing for spectacular picture and video quality. Once created, this content can be uploaded seamlessly to social media platforms through the device’s LTE capability, bringing high-speed data to the user’s fingertips.

To optimize functionality, Mobicel has significantly upgraded the battery, internal memory, and processing power with the VX20. The device offers users 64-gigabytes of storage, a long-lasting 4500mAh battery, dual-SIM, and a powerful, lightening-speed processor which augments its overall performance.

Mobicel has also placed emphasis on design and appearance, wrapping a vibrant, glass-like casing to the back of the VX20’s 6.52-inch screen. The polychromatic casing blends light and color into a posh, vivid hue, bringing elements of sophistication to the outward aesthetic.

The post Mobicel Leapfrogs SA Smartphone Evolution with VX20 Launch appeared first on HYPE Magazine.

In Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba) fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. Introducing Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Namor, ruler of a hidden undersea nation, the film also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livinalli. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” directed by Ryan Coogler and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore, is now playing in theaters and streaming on Disney+.

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is now nominated for five Academy Awards®; fans of the film can watch behind-the-scenes footage and interviews of the making of the movie in “Assembled: The Making of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” streaming on Disney+ February 8.

The post ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ is the most-watched Marvel film  appeared first on HYPE Magazine.

In a Samsung Galaxy-first, Galaxy S23 Ultra boasts a massively upgraded Adaptive Pixel 200MP sensor that captures moments with incredible precision. It uses pixel binning to support multiple levels of high-resolution processing at once.

Additional camera advancements include:

• Low-light, close-up, or in situations that would normally create a blur, images are sharp with doubled optical image stabiliser (OIS) angles in all directions, from 1.5 to 3 degrees.

• Photo and video reflect a stunning level of detail with Galaxy’s second-generation Adaptive Pixel^[ii] sensor and Samsung’s updated pixel binning technology for Galaxy S23 Ultra — now with 200MP, 50MP, and 12MP output options.

• Videos feel more cinematic with enhanced 8K video at 30fps with a wider angle.

• Advanced, object-based AI analyses each detail in the frame, even down to minute facial features such as hair and eyes, to carefully reflect a person’s dynamic characteristics.

• For an even more enhanced video experience, the new 360 Audio Recording feature^[iii] on Galaxy Buds2 Pro creates multi-dimensional sound.

Premium performance for the future of mobile gaming

For creators and gamers alike, the desire to push limits and constantly reimagine what’s possible requires technology that outpaces expectations. Qualcomm Snapdragon^® 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy, enables unprecedented performance while Galaxy’s most efficient 5,000mAh battery to date, lasts more than 20 percent longer than its predecessor.

Availability

The Galaxy S23 series comes in four nature-inspired matte hues: Phantom Black, Cream, Green and Lavender^..

Starting on 24 February 2023, Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy S23+ and Galaxy S23 will be available countrywide in carriers and retailers online and Unlocked by Samsung versions on Samsung.com.

Pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S23 series and get an upgraded memory size of 512GB HMV (High-Memory Variant) plus a Galaxy Tab S6 Lite Wi-Fi (SM-P613) when you purchase the 256GB. The offer starts on 2 February to 6 March 2023.

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The latest Tekken series is currently streaming on Netflix. Tekken: Bloodline joins a number of films and TV shows that have been adapted from the popular Japanese combat video game created by Namco and has been a staple since the 90s.

The plot of the six-episode series is linked to events that take place in Tekken 2 and 3. Bloodline follows Jin Kazama’s journey to avenge his mother Jun Kazama who was murdered by the mysterious Ogre who’s thought impossible to defeat as he possesses the Devil Gene.

Jin receives training from his grandfather, the vicious Heihachi Mishima, who teaches him the Mishima style of combat: to, in his words, fight and win like a Mishima.

Bloodline lives up to the game franchise’s main strength: realistic animation and stunning art direction. The fight scenes are undoubtedly the show’s biggest selling point; the colours pop and the movements are so lifelike.

The storyline is simple and straight to the point, placing the attention on the combat which the Tekken fan is here for.

Look out for fights involving characters such as King, Nina, Paul, Hwoarang and of course Ogre, Heihachi, Jin and a few others.

Tekken: Bloodline is streaming on Netflix.

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