malvernmugadzikwa
Deputy Sports Editor
JUST like her idol Aliyah Boston, who plays for American professional basketball league side Indiana Fever, rising Zimbabwe women basketball star Tadiwa Mabika has been rocking the domestic courts, sparking an interest in her club UZ Sparks’ games.
“There is this girl I admire. She is probably around my age and her name is Aliyah Boston,” said Mabika.
“She is a power forward, but she doesn’t just clean up the board by collecting rebounds and putting the ball back in; she also shoots, and I am almost sure she can play point guard, if the situation permits. “I love her basketball IQ. I admire her hard work and physical game.
“She is by no means perfect, as she doesn’t always score, but she works hard on her game and making her team better.”
For many in the United States, Boston has already done her part in living up to the hype for Indiana Fever.
The onus is now on Mabika to do her part.
While UZ Sparks failed to go the distance and capture the inaugural Harare Basketball Association (HBA) Super Six title, Mabika did, at the very least, leave her mark.
The third-year University of Zimbabwe student wrote her name in the history books when she became the first player (male or female) to record a triple-double in the Super Six era. That feat came during a 51-59 loss to the Vixens in December last year.
In that game, she had 23 points, 10 steals and 16 rebounds.
The loss was her team’s first of the season, ending a seven-game unbeaten start, and left a sour taste in her mouth, as Sparks never recovered from that morale-sapping result.
Mabika and her team did, however, get their revenge last weekend when they beat Vixens to the Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ) National Championship title.
For her effort, she has been duly named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.
It capped an impressive season that has left many believing that she could become the future face of Zimbabwe women’s basketball.
Ever the consummate professional, Mabika, however, desperately wanted to win the HBA title.
“When I signed for the UZ Sparks, I gave myself a list of targets.
“The first thing was that I had to play to the best of my ability always, and then also help the team win the HBA and National League titles.
“Unfortunately, the MVP and the national title are not consolation prizes for missing out on the HBA title.
“This is my second season with the Sparks and we have finished second behind Vixens twice now,” she said.
“There are a couple of key moments in the season; key games, where we had to win but lost, and that resulted in us finishing second.’’
She is hopeful that she will be third-time lucky.
“Hopefully, we can do better next season and finally capture that double.”
She paid tribute to her teammates for the success that came their way in the just-ended 2022/2023 season.
“We (Sparks) did well in the national league and really deserved that title.
“Individually, we are not the fastest, best players, or most skilled, but we work hard and that paid off . . . we have the potential to emulate JBC men, who finished their season unbeaten.
“Every team that beat us in the HBA league, we have beaten them before, so there is no excuse as to why we couldn’t finish the season undefeated.”
Online Reporter