The University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Senior Men’s Basketball team was crowned back-to-back champions at the 2024 University Sport South Africa (USSA) championship in Stellenbosch. UJ also claimed another championship in Kimberley as the Senior Men’s Football Team finished top of the tournament at Sol Plaatje University.
The Senior Women’s Football Team finished as runners-up to the University of the Western Cape, one place higher than their 2023 bronze position finish in Cape Town in the same competition.
The three UJ Sport Clubs, including the senior men’s cricket team, have concluded their 2024 USSA competitions in Stellenbosch, Bloemfontein and Kimberley from 2 to 6 December, the last stretch of university championships for the year.
Basketball’s highs and lows in the Western Cape
In Stellenbosch, the senior men’s basketball 5×5 team (Orange Wave) opened their tournament in a high intensity game against Vaal University of Technology (VUT), while the ladies played against Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).
On days 2 and 3, the Orange Wave played an entertaining Joburg derby against Wits University with the game ending at 57-50 scoreline and the University of Pretoria (UP-Tusk), finishing with a 53-31 final score. The ladies took on Gauteng rivals University of Pretoria on Tuesday and played the hosts (Stellenbosch University) on Wednesday, losing both matches by 29-42 and 53-48, respectively.
The UJ Orange Wave went on to win the rest of their fixtures, ultimately winning the tournament after defeating Wits University twice in the group stage and the final. The UJ Galaxy (ladies) avoided relegation by winning two of their five (two last matches against Walter Sisulu University and TUT), finishing in 5th place.
Football reclaims their spot in topflight Varsity Diski
In Kimberly, Coach Karabo Mogudi’s senior men’s team went into the tournament with a clear mandate; to qualify for the 2025 Varsity Football tournament. With their mission cut out for them, the team did not waste time as they embarked on a winning streak in the entire tournament stages. They defeated UP-Tuks in the final.
The ladies’ football team, under the tutelage of Head Coach Nthabeleng “Dunga” Modiko, finished in second place following a successful league run in the Hollywoodbets Super League 4th-place finish.
Cricket’s nail-biting encounters in Bloemfontein
In Bloemfontein, the UJ Senior Men’s Cricket Team won the last three of their five tournament fixtures. Their opening two matches against the University of Free State and North West University were not the start they had in mind. UFS won by two runs while NWU won by 79 runs. However, UJ regrouped, winning their third match against UWC by won one run, the second against Central University of Technology by 106 runs and their closing playoff match against UWC by 5 runs.
