THE ZIMBABWE senior men’s basketball team has qualified for the Afro-basketball championships to be co-hosted by Cameroon and Tunisia later this year after beating South Africa 66-64 in the final at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Show grounds on Saturday.
by GRACE CHIRANGANDE
Tatenda Maturure top scored for Zimbabwe, getting 29 points followed by Tawanda Chitsinde and Everisto Pasipamire who both managed 12 points.
Captain Taurai Chitsinde was delighted with the win.
“My team played well. This is our first time to qualify, so it is a big achievement for us. We worked hard as a team and hope to do far much better since we will be facing more experienced teams,” he said. Despite seeing his charges living on the wire in the dying minutes of the match, South Africa coach Tony Juliette was impressed.
“The final was good and we cannot complain. The boys played well and put all their effort, but Zimbabwe were determined, hence we could not beat them. We made unnecessary turnovers otherwise they could have done far much better. ”
Basketball Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Joe Mujuru was impressed by the organisation of the games and applauded the schools that took part in supporting Zimbabwe.
“The Bulawayo community’s participation was excellent as they managed to attend most matches and support our teams. I am very grateful to all schools that came to witness the tournament. It clearly shows that basketball is going to grow in the Bulawayo.”
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Mujuru was disappointed by the corporate world as they did not come out to help.
“The only disappointment is that the corporates did not come out to support us as they normally do. I think if they had helped us, we could have done far much better.
“The tournament was good as we managed to put together an international competition, and everyone was quite impressed by the services in terms of accommodation.’’
Angola also qualified for the All-Africa Games that are to be hosted by Congo.
