Basketball in Africa

By Paul Munyuki
Harare

THEY might have not won the honours but the debutant teams in the Sprite-Nash Top Schools basketball tournament had every reason to walk high after giving their more seasoned campaigners a good run.

The tournament at Marondera High School at the weekend had such teams as Mufakose High 2 of Harare and Masvingo's Dewure competing for the first time but they did not disappoint especially in the Girls section.

Mufakose High 2 finished fourth in the Girls category after losing to eventual runners-up Loreto who beat them 46-41 in the semi-final but they showed potential to become a force in schools basketball.

Fifth-placed Dewure who were Masvingo's torch bearers had finished third in Pool B where they were behind leaders Loreto and Hillcrest.

In the qualifying rounds, Dewure edged highly fancied Mashonaland East representatives Watershed College 22-21 -- a match which the visitors could have won by a bigger margin had they been collecting the rebounds.

Tournament director Simon Lawson felt the gap between the newcomers and those teams that have been a regular feature could be bridged if more schools got the necessary exposure.

"Competition in both groups was tough as there were quite a number of matches that had to be decided in overtime including the girls final between Loreto and Empandeni.

"One thing that pleased me is that some schools are taking their sport seriously and we have a good example of Empandeni who finished ninth last year but they managed to claim the championship this year in the girls' category.

"At the same time Dewure who were taking part in this tournament for the first time really played some good basketball and managed to finish in the top five, better than some teams that had taken part in the previous editions.

"Looking at where they came from (Dewure) all they need is more exposure . . . more tournaments and if they get the right resources next year they will give many teams problems.

"Mufakose came fourth and runners up in their group and I believe that that was a major achievement because they managed to reach the semis yet it was also their first time," said Lawson.Lawson said the script was the same in the Boys category where defending champions Churchill triumphed.

"In the boys category Churchill did not have an easy journey to the finals because Marist Nyanga proved to be a difficult side to deal with both in the final and in the group stages.

"There was no team that one could rule out given the way Visitation and Loreto played," Lawson said.