Ngbaba, a sport lost in time, returns to battered C. Africa Two teams confront each other on the dusty sports field, wielding roughly cut sticks to whack a homemade puck at high speed. For the middle-aged and beyond, the sight of this rugged game triggers distant memories, of happier times. The sport, known as ngbaba, is unique to the Central African Republic -- and, almost like the embattled country itself, has been hauled back from near-death.