HARARE City Hornets’ chances of progressing to the semi-finals were hampered after they lost to Mozambican side Ferroviário da Beira in their fourth game at the ongoing Federation of International Basketball Zone Six Club championships being played in Gaborone, Botswana.
BY HENRY MHARA
Hornets were beaten 84-71 in their fourth match of the competition, their second defeat having earlier lost to Inter Clube of Angola on Monday.
For them to qualify for the semis, they will now have to beat other Mozambican giants Ferroviário de Maputo, who they face tomorrow.
Harare Basketball Association president Sani Mbofana, who accompanied the team to Botswana, is satisfied with the team’s performance despite the two losses that undid their opening two wins.
“You will realise Mozambique and Angola are powerhouses in basketball in Southern Africa. It was always going to be so difficult to win against these teams. We have lost to very good teams and obviously we have learnt one or two lessons from it.
“Our biggest challenge and letdown was our shooting. Basketball in these two former Portuguese colonies is played at a professional level.
With funding, Zimbabwe will need to adapt to these approaches. Players will always need time to practise shooting and all the other aspects of the game.
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They just need to eat, drink and sleep basketball if they are to compete at the same level with these giants of the game. There is not two ways about it. As a team we also lacked size. We were beaten to most rebounds against the much bigger built Mozambicans. Otherwise, minus this, Zimbabwe has talent in abundance,” Mbofana said.
Hornets had a bright start to their tournament when they beat Troopers of Botswana 90-47 on Saturday, which they followed up with another compressive victory over Dolphins, also of Botswana, by 75-53 the following day.
However, they came unstuck in their third match when they were beaten 97-61 by Inter Clube on Monday
