A Tough Call: Cancelling the Top 10 Tournament, 2–4 December 2026

In basketball, we get tough calls on the court. This is one of those real-life tough calls.

You do not argue with the whistle. You respect the standard, accept the moment, make the adjustment and get back to work. Today we are making that kind of call: the Top 10 Tournament scheduled for 2–4 December 2026 at Mandeville Sports Club will not go ahead.

Why we made the call

From day one, our promise was a genuine national showcase for South African school basketball: ten of the country's leading U19 boys programmes, full FIBA stop-start rules, certified referees and table officials, live statistics and lasting digital player profiles.

That standard needs ten committed teams on the floor. When our 31 October deadline passed, we had not reached ten. Year-end examinations, matric commitments and closing school budgets made the timing too tight for several schools to commit their first teams.

We could have run a smaller field or diluted the format. But cutting corners is not who we are, and it is not what we promised the players. So we have called time on the 2026 tournament rather than compromise the standard.

We thank every school, coach, player, parent, partner and supporter who backed the idea. The goodwill across the basketball community has been extraordinary, and it has not been wasted.

The next play

A tough call does not mean the game stops. From 1 November our energy goes into the programmes where we can make the greatest impact:

• Top 10 December Camp Joburg, 7–11 December 2026: skills during the day, fun and games in the evening, for boys and girls from U12 to U19 at Emeris Sandton (venue TBC). Led by Coach Thesline Davids and Coach Tsakani Ngobeni, with special guest coach George Makena. Places are limited to 40 per age group. Book your spot.
• Top 10 Stats Officials Workshop, 10 January 2027: practical FIBA statistics and table training for school and club officials. Find out more.
• Top 10 U16 Tournament, 26–28 March 2027: South Africa's first national junior Top 10, with ten boys and ten girls teams, played in term time and clear of year-end exams. See the U16 Tournament.

Building for 2027

Grassroots development, coach and official education and fair national competition remain our purpose. The standard stays where it is. We will come back stronger.

William Price
Director, Top 10 Tournament