TANZANIA basketball fraternity on Monday joined the rest of the world to mourn the sudden demise of the basketball legend, Kobe Bryant who died on Sunday after his helicopter crashed out in Calabasas, California.
Bryant (41) and his daughter Gianna (13) were among several people killed in the fatal accident which attracted attention from the whole world.
Reacting to his death, Tanzania Basketball Federation (TBF) President Phares Magesa said the Basketball fraternity has lost a skillful legend, who, during his career, did many things to uplift the sport.
“He was in the game for almost 20 years and achieved many things as a player. He is among all-time NBA top goal scorers and achieved a lot during his stay at Los Angeles Lakers,” Magesa said.
Adding, Magesa said during his 2015-16 retiring season, Bryant scored 61 points which he said is big in the Basketball discipline.
He also disclosed that Bryant scored a total of 33,643 points, rebounds 7,047 and 6,306 assists during his professional career.
On his part, the renowned Basketball coach Bahati Mgunda said Bryant has left behind a big image in the world.
“It is a painful loss to all of us basing on the good things he did to promote the basketball across the world. His fighting spirit is a big lesson to everyone who is willing to excel in this industry and life at large.”
He added that many Basketball players in Tanzania have greatly been inspired by the life of Bryant whom he said also worked closely with some European football clubs as a step further to enhance sports.
“He won three NBA titles which is extraordinary for him,” Mgunda said.
Bryant lived in Italy between the ages of 6 and 13 while his father, Joe Bryant, played for several teams in the country. Kobe Bryant returned to Pennsylvania for high school.
He spoke fluen Italian and often said it would be a “dream” to play in the country.
That dream almost came true when Bryant nearly joined Virtus Bologna in 2011 during an NBA lockout, only for the deal to fall apart.
In Asia, Bryant was a hugely popular figure, nowhere more so than in China, where basketball rivals soccer as the most popular sport.
However, Bryant’s death on Sunday in a helicopter crash came at an awkward time between the country and the NBA.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Basketball Association, led by former Rockets MVP Yao Ming, announced it would suspend all cooperation with the Texas-based team.
Yao and the association have yet to comment on the crash that killed Bryant, his daughter and seven others.
Commemorations began rolling in online Sunday, many of them accompanied by photos of Bryant and Gianna with “R.I.P.” Others showed the two dressed in uniform walking away into clouds under a basketball net
