Story by Mthokozisi Dube
WITH the curtain coming down on the Afrobasket Afrocan qualifiers in Bulawayo, all eyes will be on hosts, Zimbabwe senior men who have a tough assignment against Mozambique in the final this evening.
The two sides played twice during the group stages of the qualifiers, with each team winning once, hence anticipation of a thriller in this Tuesday’s final.
While it is a 50 – 50 situation, Zimbabwean senior men’s basketball players are upbeat they will do the nation proud.
Forward Benson nyatanga said, ‘‘We had our own team talk and we are happy to have rested. We have refocused and we edge our fans to come in numbers and cheer the boys.’’
Guard Chris tsvarai noted, ‘‘What we need to do is to restrategise and play to our technical team’s instructions. I am sure if we play like during our first game, we can beat them.’’
Small forward Tendai madzedze said, ‘‘The boys are raring to go we need to makehistory.’’
On the brink of making history, Zimbabwean senior men will have to guard against complacency in their final contest, with a ticket to the Afrobasket finals in Rwanda at stake.
Meanwhile, Angola have been confirmed as hosts of the 12 team 2023 Afrocan tournament.
An official statement from the FIBA website indicated that Angola were confirmed as hosts at a ceremony held this Monday in Luanda.
The last edition of the Afrocan qualifiers was held in Mali in 2019.
Four teams have already qualified and these are reigning champions, the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2019 runners up Kenya, Morocco and hosts Angola.
Eight winners from regional zones are yet to confirm their qualification.
