From left to right: "Paulus Lewin (BAS Board Member), Eino Absalom, Lino Nina Simao, Dr. Vetumbuavi S. Veii (BAS Chairperson), Michael Shikemeni, Katrina Gowases (BAS Board Member), Jacobina Uushona, Ramah Mumba (BAS Executive Director)" Windhoek-The Basketball Artists School has awarded four players with scholarships worth more than N$100 000 in combined value, to further their studies at two universities, while also awarding top performers in various subjects in Windhoek on Wednesday. Earlier this week, the Basketball Artists School (BAS) Foundation situated in Katutura, Windhoek gave out 38 awards to selected Rookies, Junior and senior team players for their academic performance and overall commitment throughout the year. BAS uses Basketball as a tool to educate roughly 60 learners between the ages of 8 to 19 years in academics and life skills. They also get daily lunch, academic tutoring and basketball practice at the Katutura Sports Complex. For the first time in the eight-year history of the school, University scholarships were handed out to learners who successfully passed Grade 12. “This was through Isibindi which is a German organisation that gave us this money for scholarships specifically, these are the people who has been supporting BAS. They specifically wanted the money for people who pass grade 12 so this is why the money has gone to them” said Ramah Mumba, Executive Director of BAS Foundation. BAS Board Member and Deputy Director at the Khomas Regional Education Directorate, Paulus Lewin, urged all learners to work hard at school and always aim for the best-possible performance. He thanked everybody who made progress and victory part of BAS. “If you work hard you will reap the fruits of your hard work and you will have a lifestyle that you can be proud of, that your parents can be happy with and you can even be in a position to assist others that are also not as privileged as you are” said Lewin. Eino Absalom, Jacobina Uushona, Michael Shikemeni and Lino Nina Simao were named as the proud recipients of the scholarship for the first year at university, worth more than N$ 100,000 in total. “We are really grateful to BAS for having been there since 2010, we've been here for almost a decade which is something that was not planed, we keep creating history each and every year, thank you guys for keeping us here for this long, we have been gone long, but thank you. The scholarship means the world not only to us but to our parents, the money is really difficult to obtain, so for the rookies and the juniors and the seniors who have not seen how much my school fees cost, and you guys really need to work hard” Uushona one of the recipients said. The top performers were Robinho Nuwuseb, who received 5 awards, Noah Hilengwa with 4 and Ella Andima and Tiffany Khoeses who each got 3 awards. Awards were not only given for best results, however, but also for most recognizable improvement. The motto of the school is "Education First - Basketball Second".