MBB Basketball

Made by Ball Blue Soldiers, commonly known as MBB or MBB Blue Soldiers, is a South African basketball team based in Johannesburg. The team plays in the Basketball National League (BNL), the highest level of basketball in the country, following their promotion in 2024.^[1] They have won one National Championship title in 2024.

MBB
2024–25 MBB Basketball season
Nickname	Blue Soldiers Team Yase Dladleni (The People's Team)
League	BAL BNL South African National Basketball Championship Inner City Super League
Founded	2010
History	MBB Basketball Club 2010–present
Location	Johannesburg, South Africa
Head coach	Sam Vincent
Ownership	Cyril Shabalala
Home Away

They made their debut in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) in the 2025 season.

History

The team was founded as a social club in 2010 by a group of players who had moved from KwaZulu-Natal to Johannesburg, Gauteng.^[2] The team has been owned by former player Cyril Shabalala, who later also took reigns as head coach.^[3]

Although the team had been in existence informally, MBB started playing competitively for the first tiem when it joined the Gauteng regional Inner City Super League (ICSL) in 2023. They went on to win back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024.^[4] The Blue Soldiers joined the Basketball National League (NBL) for the 2024 season,^[5] and later also won the BSA-organised National Championship title.^[6]

Their national championship title earned them the right to play in the 2025 BAL qualification, where they will make their debut in the Elite 16 phase, becoming the third South African team in the Road to BAL, behind the Jozi Nuggets and the Cape Town Tigers.^[3]

On January 12, 2025, MBB announced on Instagram that they would play in the 2025 season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).^[7] On February 4, 2025, MBB announced Sam Vincent as their new head coach.^[8] Their participation was confirmed on 28 February 2025. On May 20, 2025, MBB won its first ever BAL game, defeating Nairobi City Thunder.^[9] The Blue Soldeirs were eliminated in the last round, and finished with a 2–4 record.

The team uses the slogan ‘iTeam Yase Dladleni’, which roughly translates to "The People's Team".^[2]

Honours

• South African National Basketball Championship (1): 2024^[6]
• Inner City Super League (2): 2023, 2024

Players

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

2025 MBB roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Age PG 1 Pfachi, Dyvonne 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) 30 – (1995-02-09)9 February 1995 CG 2 Dim, Nino 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 24 – (2000-11-06)6 November 2000 SG 5 Opong, Robinson 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 36 – (1989-05-10)10 May 1989 SF 6 Lenard, Teafale (I) 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 23 – (2002-07-21)21 July 2002 G/F 10 Selepe, Lebesa 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 34 – (1991-03-13)13 March 1991 SF 12 Mothiba, Neo 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 43 – (1982-03-21)21 March 1982 F 13 Thielemans, Omar 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 25 – (1999-09-23)23 September 1999 PF/C 14 Sibanyoni, Nkosinathi 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 27 – (1998-05-24)24 May 1998 SF 15 Camara, Mouhamed (E) 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 20 – (2005-04-01)1 April 2005 C 23 Mokwena, Marcus 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 33 – (1991-12-04)4 December 1991 PF 41 Prinsloo, Pieter 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 33 – (1992-01-07)7 January 1992 PG 45 Mooring, Jovan (I) 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 30 – (1994-12-14)14 December 1994 C 50 Craig, David 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in) 22 – (2003-07-13)13 July 2003	Head coach Sam Vincent Assistant coach(es) Dean Murray Lindokuhle Sibankulu Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: May 21, 2025

Head coaches

• Cyril Shabalala: (–2025)
• Sam Vincent: (2025–present)