Chronicle Editor
Amanda Mlevu, Sports Writer
HIGHLANDERS Women’s Basketball Club coach Theodore Weale believes good times lie ahead for the team which was once a household name.
A departure from the once usual hunting grounds for fresh talent and funding have been some of the challenges faced by the club.
At its peak, the team played in the national play-offs on seven consecutive seasons.
They would play against formidable opposition like Cameo, Varsity, and Arcadia and in the mid 1990s they emerged as the only team to beat Visiting Athletes in Action team (USA) which had three players who plied their trade in the National Collegiate Athletics Association Division 1 in the US.
Ancillah Chivero said the team, which at one stage dominated national championships and had several players in the All-Africa Games team of 1995 who included Vimbai Muhoma, Angela Chikomba and Unita Dube, has played at the highest level before. All work is being done to ensure the team’s glory days return.
With the above trio, not only did they dominate Bulawayo as a province but they also conquered all Zimbabwe.
“Since I joined the club, we may not have won any championships but we always gave it our best. There is never a year the club failed to participate in the National League play-offs. At some point, we were the powerhouse of basketball in Bulawayo,” said Chivero.
She said the team that has been assembled appears to have the character to follow the footsteps of previous teams that excelled.
“We played many big games for the club in the National League. I always enjoyed playing and beating Kango Giants, it was always a game that could go either way and was a big crowd-puller. It was a pleasure representing the province year in and year out,” she said.
Estelle Musiyamubi, a former player of the club, says the club is on the re-bound with the new crop of players having potential to scale great heights.
“I joined the club in 2010. During my playing days at Peking Stars in 2000, Highlanders was already there. I only remember we won the bronze medal in the national championships in 2012, two years after I joined the club. I saw some great players.
We had the likes of Ancilla Chivero (aka) Mai Davie and Jestina Tembo those were my seniors that I remember that played well in the team,” said Musiyamubi.
Beatrice Nyoni, Zanele Nzima, Literacy Dube, Sibonisiwe Khumalo and Eulysis Tasiyana are among the stars expected to usher a new dawn for the club that once dominated the scene.
Club coach Weale said they were in the process of gathering a mean machine that will rock the basketball scene.
“Highlanders is the longest serving basketball team in Bulawayo. We currently have juniors and seniors to have balance. We are a community based team that does not segregate or shun people. We take anyone who wants to join. All these factors are what is going to take us far and win a lot of games in the future,” said Weale.
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