BUZ shaken, but not stirred
THE Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ) appear rather “nonchalant” about missing out on the inaugural edition of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), opting to bide their time before taking a proper crack at the premier African club competition.
The competition, which is a collaboration between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), makes its long-awaited arrival next month in Kigali, Rwanda.
The competition, slated for May 16 to May 30, will have an 18-game group phase, with the 12 teams divided into three groups of four.
During the group phase, each team will face the other three teams in its group once.
The top eight teams from the group phase will qualify for the playoffs, which will be single elimination in all three rounds.
However, rather than mourn over their absence at tournament, BUZ have opted to celebrate the return of the sport.
“While, we are disappointed that we will not have any representation, we are happy that basketball is back,” BUZ president Joe Mujuru said.
“Not only is Zimbabwe open for business in terms of sport, but so is Africa.
“This is Africa’s biggest club competition and it will certainly open many doors for those that participate in it.
“We fully intend to be one of those in the near future.”
At the heart of the union’s renewed optimism is the fact that BUZ are now on FIBA’s radar, with the two entities expected to collaborate in the FIBA PLUS Strategy and Planning Programme in Zimbabwe.
The FIBA PLUS Strategy and Planning Programme is one of the initiatives undertaken by FIBA as part of their 2019-2023 long-term strategy to “empower national federations” to reach their full potential.
“This initiative is a tailor-made programme for Zimbabwe basketball with the aim to put in place correct strategies for its specific needs to improve the federation’s capacity to organise, professionalise and commercialise its basketball activities.”
After discussions with BUZ and their external stakeholders to better understand how the federation works, the environment in which it operates and its goals, FIBA will then help the union complete a situation analysis.
This analysis will enable BUZ board members to define their future, develop their plan and provide necessary performance baselines and benchmarks which the union can use to measure future growth and progress.
BUZ hopes to better plan and prepare their future targets, with priority being placed on participating in the BAL.
“As you may be aware, we do not get any form of grant from FIBA and Government, so our goal is to play a more active role when it comes to helping our representatives preparing for this tournament.
“We have to move away from only offering financial assistance to clubs and teams, as we are currently unable to at the moment.
“One of the objectives of this initiative, from a specifically union point of view, is to get help as to how best we can improve the state of the game and better capacitate all our structures, teams and clubs,” Mujuru said.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and failure to complete the respective leagues last year, Mercenaries and City Hornets have been selected as representatives for this year’s club competitions.
Mercenaries, by virtue of still being defending National League champions from the 2019 edition, will get a second crack at the preliminary round of the BAL.
Coach Innocent Sithole has described the Mutare-based side’s failed first attempt to make the finals in 2019 as a ‘blessing in disguise’.
“In hindsight our first round exit back in 2019 was actually a blessing in disguise.
“We barely had any action last year due to Covid-19, and the announcement of the finals comes with just over a month to prepare.
“Given the size and importance of the event, that is not enough time,” Sithole said. Instead, he chose to concentrate on the lessons his charges and organisation learnt during last time’s participation. “We went into the tournament unprepared, be it match fitness, competitiveness and financially.
“Most clubs, with the exception of maybe Botswana, Namibia and us, took this tournament as a national event as they fully understood the gains and long-term benefits of participating.
“The exposure and financial gains trickle down to the respective leagues and development of the sport for the participating teams, and most of these teams brought their best squads.
“When we can back, one of our main goals was to get the backing and buy-in of everyone in basketball.
“We have already been notified that we will be representing Zimbabwe yet again, and have begun preparing for this year’s preliminary rounds. “With league action reportedly a month away, everything we do from now on will be aimed at preparing ourselves for the BAL,” said Sithole.