adminSports Correspondent
MANICALAND is expected to host the Under-20 boys’ and girls’ basketball National Association of Secondary School Heads top schools finals billed for September.
Basketball Union of Zimbabwe national competitions director, Tendai Mukuruva, confirmed the development during the just-ended National Youth Games hosted by the province.
The qualifiers for the annual tournament were already played throughout all the country’s 10 provinces, with the finals set for September 25 to 26 in Mutare.
“All the provinces are expected to participate for both boys’ and girls’ categories. We are expecting a total of 24 teams comprising 12 boys’ and 12 girls’ teams,” said Mukuruva.
At the just-ended NYGs, Harare Province dominated in both divisions, scooping gold medals.
In the boys’ category, Bulawayo and Mashonaland West settled for silver and bronze medals respectively, while in the girls division, Mashonaland West clinched silver, while Bulawayo settled for bronze.
Mukuruva said the strides of the NYGs towards the development of the sport had been significant since the inception of the games in 2003.
He, however, said there was need to now improve on quality.
“In terms of performance we are seeing the step up of basketball countrywide, with prolific talent merging from the exposure of the National Youth Games such as the United States-based NBA player, Vitalis Chikoko.
“However, organisation remains poor and there has been no improvement in the past years in the quality of the games, something that the Sports and Recreation Commission should work on critically for next year’s edition,” he said.
He, however, applauded the SRC for the national development of the sport with all provinces now competing.
“Smaller provinces like Matabeleland North and South are now competing in basketball and several other sporting disciplines which is very encouraging as we aim to spread the sport countrywide.”
Online Reporter