Southern Region Basketball League takes a break

incorporated teams in the Southern Region of the country and so far three teams have since joined.
Kwekwe-based Steelers, Unicorns and Midlands State University both from Gweru are in the league.
The league ended with the Kings Tournament last week with newcomers Highlanders winning it after beating Unicorns 62-50.
“It has been an interesting season although we had problems with transport as some teams are not sponsored but however most of them managed to fulfill their fixtures. The season will restart on the first week of January,” said Charles Ndlovu the league’s spokesperson.
He said they were happy with the response from the Midlands as people in that area were beginning to follow the sport.
“We have also seen an improvement in the sport from both the Bulawayo teams and the Midlands. We have seen teams such as Oilers and ALCC improving this year,” he said.
Highlanders joined the league this year after a while “off” and they won the Kings Tournament with Michael Zvoushe being crowned the Most Valuable Player.
At the same event top basketball player and coach Emmanuel Mukandi who has made big contribution to the sport over the years was awarded with the Life Time Achievement Award.
He has been instrumental in the development of players and has a knack of identifying talent and uplifting the players.
Ndlovu said they were hoping that next year there would be more women’s teams in the league.
“At the moment there are a few women’s teams and we are hoping to improve on the number by next year. Most of the girls that play in the league are still at school and we are hoping that we will be able to catch them young and develop them for the future,” he said.
Ndlovu said next year there would be a number of tournaments such as club championships, national championships and provincial championships.
“We hope that during this break teams will take time to beef up their squads and prepare for a tough season ahead.
“We will be competing against some of the country’s best players from Harare and we are hoping our teams will be ready by then,” he said.
Although the league has managed to pull through they still do not have a sponsor and Ndlovu said they were appealing to the corporate world to assist them.
“We need sponsors for the league. At the moment a number of our teams are struggling because of lack of sponsorship. We are appealing to the corporate world to come on board and assist us,” he said.