30 November 2006

ZIMBABWE : Basketball giants Cameo sell franchise

HARARE Basketball Association (HBA) and National League champions Cameo have put their ‘A’ League franchise on sale citing pressing monetary constraints.

Cameo coach-cum-owner Roderick Takawira, said he had arrived at that painful decision because the costs of sponsoring three competitive teams alone was straining his finances.
The decision, he said, had also been prompted by the fact that the top-flight local basketball league was still unbranded, and now wanted to concentrate more on the ‘B’ League side and the ladies team.
“It is increasingly becoming difficulty to run a club in the league that does not have a sponsor. Two years ago I approached quite a number of people with the hope of getting assistance, but they all declined and this led me to reaching this decision,” he added.
The respected mentor, who has guided the team to five consecutive HBA and National League championships, said it was high time other people took over the programme he started in 1995.
“The sport has been taking too much of my time.
This is why I have decided to sell the ‘A’ League team’s franchise.
I will keep the ‘B’ League team as a developmental side, which will involve under-18 players.
“Every player over 18 years will move on to another club.
In basketball a player becomes a free agent at the end of the season so the players will just join the teams of their choice,” he said.
Cameo was formed in 1995 and over the years has risen to become one of the best in the country.
Their demise means the talents of former Zimbabwe Under-20s such as Michael Nhira, Farai Tumbare, Alan Tegunde, Nyasha Mushekwi and Duncan Shenje have to look elsewhere to continue with their careers.

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