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BULAWAYO Basketball League (BBL) clubs believe that a solid grassroots foundation is the key to containing Harare’s dominance on the national circuit.Speaking after seeing City of Kings clubs fail to make it into the final of the National Basketball Club Championships held at Regina Mundi High School in Gweru over the weekend, Southern Mavericks (men) coach Joe Mujuru said there is need to have more games played in Bulawayo as well.
Mujuru, also a member of the Basketball Union of Zimbabwe executive said Harare had a bigger pool of players to select teams from compared to Bulawayo.
Mavericks won bronze in the men’s category after beating Unicorn 76-34 in the third place play off. Cameo beat Raiderz 76-68 in the all Harare men’s final with Vixens also from the capital lifting the women’s title following their 59-53 win over their city rivals.
“Considering that Southern Mavericks is in its second season in basketball, losing in the semi-finals is something to cheer about for us as a club and Bulawayo. The reason why Bulawayo teams struggle against their Harare counterparts is that there is lots of competition in the capital than anywhere in the country.
“BBL has to engage schools and make sure that the sport is played at most schools so that we can have a big pool to select from. Recently there were high school championships in Bulawayo and only 10 schools participated. Since 2002, we have not had any Bulawayo school making it into the last four of the national schools competitions. This is worrying and action has to be done quickly,” Mujuru said.
In the past schools like Northlea, Hamilton and Founders did well in the Leyland National Secondary School Championships. He encouraged schools to engage qualified basketball coaches to train their teams or send teachers for coaching clinics so that they grasp the basics of the sport.
Highlanders’ women team coach Roy Sikwila said another factor contributing to Harare’s dominance is lack of funding for local clubs.
“In Gweru we saw that almost every team from Harare had a sponsor and that motivates players. Unlike us in Bulawayo, some talented players are lost because they do not have money to come for training or matches and clubs have nothing to offer. If only the corporate world would lend a hand, then we can see basketball improving in Bulawayo,” said Sikwila.
Highlanders were 2013 National Basketball Club Championships bronze medalists but failed to maintain their last form.
Sikhumbuzo “SV” Ndlovu, Lakers women’s coach said the competition gap was big in the men’s category.
“There is no gap between Harare and Bulawayo women’s basketball but it is there in the men’s category. What we need is to find ways as Bulawayo to encourage the formation of more competitive clubs so that there are lots of basketball matches played. The more we play the game, the better we become as players and as a city. It’s an open secret that Harare plays lots of basketball and we have to do the same if we are to stop their dominance,” said Ndlovu
Results
Quarter-finals Women: Green Stars 56-34 Green Academy, JBC 56-31 Real Retuners, Vixens 55-22 Raiderz, Lakers 40-47 Mavericks
Men: Raiderz 63-27 Oilers, Unicorns 57-53 Hustlers, Cameo 64- 27 Giants, JBC 56-61 Mavericks
Semi-finals
Men: Cameo 49-33 Unicorns, Raiderz 54-48 Mavericks
Women: Green Stars 40-31 Mavericks, Vixens 45-40 JBC
Final
Women: Green Stars 53-59 Vixens
Men: Cameo 76-68 Raiderz
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