Reece Prinsloo

In 2018 I was fortunate enough to be a part of the Soweto panthers team that went on to win the National Basketball league. The team was lead by a man I had only seen on tv and had wanted to meet since I first started watching the BNL and fortunately turned out to be a great leader and role model. Reece is a player who makes waves every time he sets foot on the floor with his size and skill set. At 6 foot 7 and built like a mammoth he is also highly regarded as one of the best rebounders in South Africa and a player almost anyone would want on their team. Its safe to say that when he touches the ball in the paint no one else will come near it (not like you have a choice). He takes pride in his faith, family and basketball.

I got in touch with him to find out about his national team service and was not disappointed.

Name

Reece Wade Prinsloo

Age

29

Years played on national team

2015-2017

Games played for national team

15

Best player you’ve played against at national level

Eduardo Mingas

Your favourite/standout game at national level

My stand out game for the country was in 2015 as a rookie playing under the reigns of coach George Bells Makena with the likes of Lindo Sibankulu, Tsakani Ngobeni and Fumani Marhanele

and in a must win game to qualify for Afro Basket against the host nation Zimbabwe. We were down most of the game and I came on towards the end of the first quarter and got rebound after rebound, And-one after And-one. By the end of the game I had 17 points and 16 rebounds in an arena packed with “Zimbos”. The energy was electrifying however my efforts aswell as the teams efforts weren’t enough to seal the deal and we ended up losing by 2 points and were unable to qualify. That was the first time I cried after losing a game because it just meant so much and we got so close.

A favourite story from national team

My favourite story was from that same year in Zimbabwe. We played Africa’s best team, Angola, in back to back games. After losing to them dismally in the first game and returning the next game and being up by nearly 20 points at half time. In the changeroom our spirits were high and we were on a buzz, however we lost by about 5 points to Africas best. I think this comes to show we actually can keep up and compete with the best if given the opportunity.

A message or lesson to the kids

My message to kids is that a lot can be achieved within you but you have to do your best and trust in God and he will do the rest for you in every future endeavour.

#KeepBallAlive