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Tinashe Kusema
THE Zimbabwe Basketball Union is seeking to raise $70 000 ahead of the country’s maiden voyage to the FIBA African Championships in Tunisia later this year.
Also known as the Afro Basket, the tournament is pencilled for August 20-30 and will see 16 of the continent’s best basketball teams colliding in the Tunisian capital, Tunis.
Southern Africa carries the biggest contingent of representatives as Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Angola have already qualified.
The trio will join the continental powerhouses Morocco, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and hosts Tunisia.
The line-up will be completed in the next few weeks as other regions hold their qualifiers.
The Zimbabwe men’s team earned a qualification ticket after coming third at the 2015 Afro-basket and All Africa Games qualifiers held in Bulawayo last month.
Now with qualification in the bag, BUZ is racing against time to secure the funds needed to oil participation at the tournament.
“Preparations are already at an advanced stage as we have set up a budget of about US$70 000,” disclosed Shinga Magede, the union’s head of protocol, media and publicity.
“The money will cater for the team’s training camps, one of which will be held in Mozambique for about two weeks prior to our departure for the games.
“Mozambique has a similar altitude and weather patterns as Tunisia and we intend to camp there to help the boys acclimatise.
“The money will also cater for our travel expenses, allowances, basic training and game kits. We have already set up a committee to fund-raise and secure sponsorships.”
Zimbabwe intends to send a strong contingent of 21, which will include 12 players, a technical team of six, a FIBA referee and representatives from the basketball union.
“We have not yet finalised the travelling contingent, but roughly 21 people will be going to the championships with the only ones guaranteed so far being the 12 players.
“We are also mandated to send a FIBA recognised referee and so far there are only three in the country. We will select one among them.
“As for the team, we expect the coach to finalise his training program sometime next week after which the team will officially begin their training regime sometime after Easter,” said Magede.
The Afro Basket competition will also serve as qualifiers for the FIBA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Meanwhile, coach Ellery Pinkerton is keeping his cards close to the chest.
Pinkerton might be seeking time to sound out his foreign-based contingent.
The trio of Robert Mugabe Jr, United States-based guard Julian Mavunga and Vitalis Chikoko, who currently plays for Germany outfit TBB Trier, missed out on last month’s qualifiers, but indications are that Pinkerton will consider them his top priorities when assembling his team.
Online Reporter