Tlou shines on the basketball court

Calistus Kolantsho | Friday January 29, 2021 15:47

It was long in coming but it marked the beginning of greater things for Monicah Kemmonye Tlou who has gone on to shine on the basketball court. Tlou never had an interest in the sport, but she was one of the best netball players at Pitikwe Junior Secondary School in Lobatse.

 Tlou, born 24 years ago in Lobatse, landed on the basketball court after an invitation to train from her school’s coach. This was after Tlou’s netball team failed to progress in one of the tournaments.

“My willingness to learn got me bouncing that ball by myself up and down the court. I played in the 2012 BISA Games in Gaborone, and we won, and I got the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. It was my first gold medal and the best player of the tournament award. In the same year, I was part of the COSSASA Under-17 national team and I was chosen the best player of the tournament,” she said.

Tlou’s talent continued to shine and in 2014 she signed with BDF club. The same year she played in the BISA Games, emerging with a gold medal and  MVP and Most Outstanding Player awards. She went on to play at the 2nd Africa Youth Games where her team was knocked out in the quarter-finals. Tlou captained the Under-18 national team in Egypt in 2014.

“In 2015,  I changed clubs and joined Police and I was elevated to the women’s senior national team the same year. Police were on fire that year and they won the national league and champions’ winners. The following year I played in the Wits Lady Bucks tournament in South Africa. We finished as second runners-up. We were invited for the Namibia Independence Cup Championships. Upon return, we won the Botho University and BDF tournaments. We then proceeded to Swaziland for an international tournament,” she said.

Tlou, who plays small forward, said in 2017 she played in the Johannesburg women’s tournament and President Cup Championship. She also took part in the Afro Basket Zone VI club championship qualifiers. In 2018, Vaal University signed Tlou where she got her first gold medal at the Sasolburg tournament. Her team was ranked third during the Johannesburg women’s tournament.

“As soon as I started playing in South Africa, I kept training hard and always looking to better my skills. What really helped me was being in all the Botswana national teams from Under-16 throughout until I made it into the senior team. By the time I was picked for the senior team, I knew I had to work extra hard. Even when there was no training, I still went to the gym and to the court to try and get better. The work ethic at Police paid off and it gave me, even more, to take on my life’s journey not just basketball-wise,” Tlou said.

However, before she started playing full-time in South Africa, Tlou said she kept participating in tournaments to gauge herself against other players. She stands at a towering 1.87cm, which she said assisted her to win a basketball scholarship with the Vaal University of Technology where she plays and studies at the same time.

“The competition here is tough and way better than what we get in Botswana. We play a lot of games per season, roughly 84 games in a season. That is not even close to the games I used to play in Botswana per season. I really grew from the experience and I am still at it. Now I am playing PRO basketball, which is the highlight of my career,” she said.

FACT FILE

Full name: Monicah Kemmonye Tlou

Date of birth: December 1, 1996

Place of birth: Lobatse

Sport: Basketball

Club: Vaal University of Technology

Position: Small forward

Height: 1.87cm