Basketball ladies in camp

The Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ) is yet to come up with a decision on the actual venue as they want to spread the sport to the two towns.
Under the watchful eyes of national team head coach Sikhumbuzo Ndlovu of Lakers and Giants’ Mxolisi Ndlovu, the players went through their paces at the Bulawayo Club for the Disabled Courts last week.

BBA secretary-general Joe Mujuru attended the women’s training session and was pleased with the overwhelming turnout.
“The turnout has been tremendous and the ladies looked sharp and raring to go. This is quite positive and the players are showing the right attitude and the desire to win,” said Mujuru.

While the women’s team is already sweating it out, the men are still on a break enjoying the festive season. Upon being quizzed why it is only the ladies who have already started training, Mujuru said the women’s league is small forcing the teams to play fewer games.

“Actually our women’s league is small and therefore the ladies play fewer games compared to men in a season. The ladies’ fitness level is also lower hence they need more conditioning before they start playing at a higher level,” said Mujuru.

The secretary-general’s sentiments were echoed by coach Sikhumbuzo who said they needed more time to fine-tune the players before the inter-provincial games.
“I am happy because the turnout has been excellent and we are taking advantage of the festive holiday to train. We are actually working on all aspects of the game, trying different combinations by evaluating all the players that we have,” said Sikhumbuzo.

Besides injuries to key players such as Lakers captain Nobukhosi Ndlovu and Sibonginkosi Mnkandla, the coach said all the players are fit and looked sharp in training.
“Our concern at the moment is the injury to Nobukhosi with a knee problem and Sibonginkosi with an ankle problem. Otherwise we are ready to challenge for honours next year,” said Sikhumbuzo.

Harare has been dominating these games and Sikhumbuzo has fired early warning shots saying that their opponents should not take them lightly come next year.
“I can safely say that we have come of age and we will definitely be one of the teams to beat. We are assembling very competitive teams that can stand the heat during the games,” said Sikhumbuzo.

According to the head coach their men’s Under-20 and ladies teams are the strongest.
In the Under-20 men’s team, Bulawayo boasts of Jordan Davis, Shadel Noble, Brendon Gonyora, Noah Penduka and Clayton Moyo.
In the women’s team Bulawayo is also spoilt for choice as they have dependable players in their ranks such as Nobuhle Ndlovu, Geraldine Chibonda, Yolanda Mataitai and Mnkandla.

The dates for the inter-provincial games are yet to be confirmed because the country is also supposed to play in the Afro Basketball Qualifiers during the same month of February.