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Online Reporter
HOSTS Basket Hounds and Sudanese outfit Fox got off to a flyer during the opening rounds of the Road to BAL East Division Group E tournament at City Sports Centre on Wednesday.
The six-team tournament made up for the false start on Tuesday as the local basketball community converged at the City Sports Centre for some scintillating action headlined by the Sudanese champions.
“Firstly, we are happy that we finally managed to get the tournament started and, more importantly, we are happy with the start of the tournament,” said Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (buz) president, Joe Mujuru.
“BAL (Basketball Africa League) is very big tournament in terms of both the sport and continent, and Fiba giving us the nod to host is just proof of their confidence in us,” he said.
Commenting on the reasons behind the false start, Mujuru said: “Contrary to what is being said on social media, the delay in start had nothing to do with the venue.
“One of the teams from Sudan encountered problems while enroute to Zimbabwe and we thought it would be unfair to start without them.
“Luckily, both Fiba and our own Government came to their aid and everything was sorted out without any unnecessary delays,” he said.
The Sudanese outfit Fox got the ball rolling as the much-touted about North African champions managed to see off Botswana Defense Forces (BDF) 76-67.
Costa do Sol from Mozambique were the victim of the first upset of the tournament after going down 71-78 to Matero Magic of Zambia.
Zimbabwe’s representatives in the tournament rounded up Wednesday’s action with a 72-62 win over Brave Hearts of Malawi.
Thursday’s fixtures
Fox v Costa Do Sol 12pm
Matero Magic v Bravehearts 2.30pm
Basket Hounds v BDF
Online Reporter