tawandamusarurwa
Online Reporter
HARARE City Hornets caused the biggest upset of the Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ) National League qualifiers when they beat hosts Mercenaries 76-66 to clinch the third and final spot in the main tournament in Mutare over the weekend.
Hornets joined Bucs and Leopards Academy as the three male qualifiers for the finals scheduled to be held later this month in Harare.
Harare City Hornets, JBC and Bunnies completed Harare’s dominance, as all three teams booked their ticket to the finals in the women’s category.
A total of 12 teams made up the BUZ National League Zone A Qualifiers held in Mutare, with the women’s category comprising Saints, FJ Academy, Bunnies, JBC, Harare City Hornets and Mavericks.
Mercenaries, Hornets, B Tigers, Bucs, Leopard Academy and Hurricanes made up the men’s categories.
Put into groups of three each, JBC, Bunnies, Hornets and FJ Academy made it out of the preliminary round of the tournament in the women’s category, while Bucs, Leopards Academy, Hornets and the hosts made it out of the men’s category.
Bucs and Leopards booked their ticket to the finals when they emerged semi-finalist winners over Hornets (63-51) and Mercenaries (66-52), respectively.
The losers then met in the third-place play-off, which Hornets won 76-66.
In the women’s category, Bunnies and Hornets made light work of JBC (63-55) and FJ Academy (64-13) to seal the automatic place to the finals.
JBC then completed the Harare clean sweep when they beat FJ Academy 60-9 in the third-place place-off.
Both the men’s and women’s finals were called off due to logistical reasons, but the four teams had already secured their places in the main tournament.
Online Reporter