adminTinashe Kusema
MERCENARIES head coach Innocent ‘Stolz’ Sithole has embraced the underdog tag that his charges carry into this week’s 2020 Basketball Africa League (BAL) qualifying tournament.
He is even insisting that he would not have wanted it any other way. It is the seasoned gaffer’s belief that the tag is embedded in the club’s DNA, and is one of the key reasons behind their success story. “We have loads of pressure and the underdog tag is how we have gone about our business so far. I would not want it any other way.
“We carried the underdog tag going into the BUZ National League earlier this year, and we managed to beat the so-called heavyweights, Harare City Hornets and Foxes, to get this ticket. Being underdogs all the time has helped us stay sharp and guard against complacency and over confidence.
“In as far as the pressure is concerned, we are going to South Africa for the qualifying tournament as ambassadors of the country. Victory will belong to the entire basketball fraternity, not just us. It is a duty that we are not taking lightly. As such, we intend to put our best foot forward,” Sithole said.
The tournament officially starts on Tuesday and will run up to October 27. It will have 32 teams vying for a seat at the African high table, which will see 12 teams making up the inaugural continental league. The first round of the qualifying tournaments started on October 15 and will run till November 3. Teams have been divided into six groups, with the top two of each group advancing to the next round.
An additional four teams will be invited to compete in the Elite 16, the second round of the qualifying tournaments.
Four cities, including Bamako (Mali), Libreville (Gabon), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and Antananarivo (Madagascar), have been confirmed as hosts of the Elite 16 qualifying tournaments. The Elite 16 top six teams will then join champions from Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia to complete the BAL 2020 regular season line up of 12 teams. Mercenaries, by virtue of winning the 2018/19 national league, will represent Zimbabwe at this week’s Group E qualifying tournament in South Africa.
The tourney will see the Zimbabwean champions square up against Ferroviario de Maputo (Mozambique), Jozi Nuggets (South Africa), Unza Pacers (Zambia), Dolphins (Botswana) and Lions Club (Namibia). The Zimbabwean champions believe they have put in all it takes to advance to the finals. Sithole has roped in seasoned campaigners on the African continent.
These include Tatenda Tswatswa, Tawanda Chitsinde, Tatenda Maturure, Everisto Pasipamire, Neville Chivhanyange and Allen Danga.
“Like I mentioned earlier, we are not taking the opportunity and challenge lightly. We need to add some depth and experience in our squad. We raided the market with a particular skillset in mind, we believe these players will add value to our cause. Their experience aside, they play a similar basketball to ours, which is mainly the running and shooting game. “We have been in camp for a couple of months and as expected, the six have gelled into a team,” he said.
The Mercenaries left for South Africa on Friday. They will play a few games against Johannesburg-based outfit Phoenix while acclimatising. BAL is a brainchild of Fiba Africa and the NBA.
Online Reporter