Bosso’s miserable second half
. . . 4th worst record in last 17 matches
ZIMBABWE football giants Highlanders, who threatened to run away with the championship at one stage, would have been relegated from the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League had the season been based on the second half of the 2023 campaign.
Bosso, who were unbeaten in the opening 19 matches, had the Fourth Worst record in the last 17 games of the season with 18 points and were only better than Cranborne Bullets, Triangle and Bulawayo Chiefs in the second half.
A good start to the season is the reason Highlanders eventually finished in fifth place on the final league standings.
They were unbeaten after 17 games but lost seven times in the second half of the season, dropping 19 points more and conceding 18 goals in 17 games compared to just four in the opening half of the season.
Highlanders managed just four wins in the second half of the season, a poor record only beaten by Triangle and Cranborne Bullets who both won three games.
They were toothless in front of goal and managed just nine goals in 17 matches of the second half, with only Cranborne Bullets doing worse (eight) — the only two teams without double digits.
But despite the second half collapse, Highlanders
ended the campaign with a 1-0 victory over champions Ngezi Platinum at Barbourfields on Sunday to complete a double over the miners after a similar result in the reverse fixture at Baobab on July 30.
NGEZI PLATINUM
Ngezi Platinum have a unique record in the second half of the season as they did not have a draw in all 17 matches, which yielded 12 wins and five defeats.
All of their five defeats in the second half of the season came away from Baobab as they lost against Herentals (0-1), FC Platinum (0-1), Dynamos (1-2), Hwange (0-1) and Highlanders (0-1). They won all the matches at Baobab, including a supposedly away match against Simba Bhora.
Ngezi Platinum scored the most goals in the second half of the season (24) followed by Yadah (23), Manica Diamonds (22), FC Platinum (21) and Herentals (20).
BLACK RHINOS
Of the four teams relegated from the Premiership at the weekend, Black Rhinos were the most disappointed as they had an impressive second half performance that gave them the SIXTH best record in the last 17 games.
Black Rhinos collected 26 points in the second half of the season and in the end they finished just two points away from safety, something that is blamed on their disastrous first half of the season in which they managed just 12 points.
Saul Chaminuka’s arrival changed Black Rhinos’ fortunes but, as it turned out, it was a little too late for the army side.
OTHERS
◆ Sheasham and Cranborne Bullets, who were both relegated, had the most defeats in the second half of the season (9).
Dynamos had the best defence in the second half as they conceded just eight goals in 17 matches, which was their record in the first half as well giving DeMbare an overall best defensive record for the season with 16 conceded in 34 matches.
ZPC Kariba had the Worst defence in the second half of the season as they let in 25 goals, followed by Yadah (23) and Triangle.
Chicken Inn had the Most draws (9) in the second half of the season followed by CAPS United and Triangle who both had seven.
NGEZI PLATINUM MANICA DIAMONDS DYNAMOS FC PLATINUM HERENTALS COLLEGE
SECOND HALF P W D 17 12 0 17 8 5 17 8 5 17 8 5 17 8 3
L 5 4 4 4 6
F 24 22 15 21 20
A 10 13 8 15 17
Pts 36 29 29 29 27*
BLACK RHINOS HWANGE SIMBA BHORA YADAH GREENFUEL CAPS UNITED CHICKEN INN
ZPC KARIBA SHEASHAM HIGHLANDERS BULAWAYO CHIEFS TRIANGLE CRANBORNE BULLETS
HIGHLANDERS NGEZI PLATINUM MANICA DIAMONDS DYNAMOS CHICKEN INN FC PLATINUM CAPS UNITED HERENTALS COLLEGE BULAWAYO CHIEFS ZPC KARIBA GREEN FUEL HWANGE TRIANGLE SIMBA BHORA SHEASHAM YADAH CRANBORNE BULLETS BLACK RHINOS 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 7 7 6 7 6 5 4 6 5 4 4 3 3 5 4 5 2 5 7 9 3 3 6 5 7 5
HALFWAY STAGE P W D 17 10 7 17 8 6 17 8 5 17 7 7 17 7 7 17 7 5 17 6 6 17 6 6 17 6 5 17 6 3 17 5 5 17 5 5 17 3 10 17 3 8 17 2 11 17 5 2 17 3 4 17 2 6 5 6 6 8 6 5 4 8 9 7 8 7 9
L 0 3 4 3 3 5 5 5 6 8 7 7 4 6 4 10 10 9 19 13 17 23 13 19 17 13 15 9 14 14 8
F 15 21 20 22 18 16 18 18 23 13 14 14 10 12 8 12 8 8 18 10 13 23 17 19 13 25 20 18 18 22 17
A 4 13 10 8 13 14 13 16 20 23 17 17 14 14 16 23 16 19 26 25 23 23 23 22 21 21 18 18 17 16 14
PTS 37 30 29 28 28 26 24 24 23 21 20 20 19 17 17 17 13 12
BASKETBALL Union of Zimbabwe president Joe Mujuru says they are ready to play host to the country’s first ever International Basketball Federation Youth Camp next month.
The camp will be from December 5 to 10 in Harare. Fiba granted Buz the rights to host the youth camp which will gather the best players and coaches in the country.
The camp is dedicated to youth players from 14-15 years with good technical and physical abilities, and will be used to form the long list for the Under-16 national teams for the AUSC Region 5 games to be held in Namibia in December 2024.
Being the first of its kind, to be held in the country, Mujuru will be a history making moment for Buz and the whole lot of the basketball family locally.
“Obviously, this means a lot to us. We are excited to be hosting the camp. We have prepared well and are ready to have the programme running. The idea is to leave a legacy of technical richness in the country.
“The camp will be organised by experts from Fiba and NBA in two parts. The first part will be for 30 coaches that work in the youth basketball category and will run for three days. The second part for 40 youthful players and coaches will also run for three days,” said Mujuru.
He said the youth camp complements the “Her World, Her Rules” (HWHR) campaign which is Fiba’s most recognised initiative in women’s basketball.
The basketball governing body has prioritised the promotion of women in basketball, making the campaign a key focus of their strategic priorities.
Through this elite camp, as Mujuru put it, Fiba Africa would want to help Buz identify talent and build a programme for youth basketball players and coaches.
The objective is to have the best young players for the Fiba Africa regional youth camps and the Basketball Without Borders initiative.
The Fiba Africa youth camp is the continent’s flagship event for training and development. Since inception in 2021, the camp has reached 80 percent of the African countries, impacting on 43 nations.
Globally, 90 girls and 150 boys have participated in the It has been implemented as an elite programme to identify and harness the best young African basketball players, who are coached by a set of experts delivering advice on the technical aspects of the game.