KINGSTONE ZIMUNYA
Zimbabwe’s most entertaining premier basketball league rolled on towards its second half on Saturday 3 February at the Sunrise Sports Club.
The first game after the just ended January transfer window came with its own controversies and, as always, some exciting basketball action.
ALSO READ: HBA Super Six Transfer Highlights: Mass Exodus at JBC, As Mbare Bulls Go Shopping
After all was said and done, standings remained unchanged in both the Men’s and Women’s division, with the highlight being Leopards Academy consolidating its third position and UZ Sparks’ no show (kind of) resulting in them dropping points and cutting their lead to just one point.
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| Rolling on—HBA Super Six Action continues (Pictured is JBC vs Mbare Bulls game) |
Gameweek 12 Wrap: Super Six Men’s
In the first game of the Men’s division played at 1500, second placed Basket Hounds demolished easy-beats UZ Stars 79-21. No surprises there.
Starman Innocent Zhomwa played 40 minutes and posted a domineering 33 points and 6 rebounds. New boy Tafadzwa Chimanikire, who came in from Harare A League side Harare City Hornets proved he is built for the big league by posting 13 points. Nyaguringo made the first double-double of the day with a solid 11-11-4.
In the blockbuster game of the day, midtable rivals Leopards Academy and Arcadia Bucs juked it out in a make or break game.
In the end, it was Leopards Academy that came out on top with a 64-53, just nine points separating the teams.
Both teams brought their A game on the bench, and it was the 37 point contribution of three players from the Leopards bench that spurred them to victory.
Simbarashe Chitsungwe went home with 17 points, while Tatenda Maturure and Munashe Makumbe took 10 points a piece.
The highest points scorer of the day came from the Bucs bench — Dumisani Moyo with 18 points; while Bucs’ latest signing from JBC, Panashe Kaduya, proved his worth with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
In the final game of the day, log leaders JBC bounced back to winning ways, taking a six point win over fifth-placed Mbare Bulls.
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| Back to basics —Coach Addison Chiware (left) instructing his JBC players in the game vs Mbare Bulls (Chikuse in front) |
The 68-62 game was a neck-and-neck blockbuster that had 12 lead changes and 9 times tied.
It seems Gameweek 12 was double-double day and JBC were in no mood to play, after enduring a tumultuous two weeks.
Star boy Manoah Ntini proved his starpower by posting an impressive 18 points and 10 rebounds. Vice-captain Noah Penduka showed his reliability with a 14-8-3. Tashinga Chiimba completed Gameweek 12’s double-double list with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while captain Benson Nyatanga posted 10 points.
ALSO READ: HBA Super Six Gameweek 11 Review: Leopards Academy wallop UZ Stars, Blades Receive Baptism of Fire
Gameweek 12 restored some order on the standings, as JBC strengthened their position at the top of the log with 21 points, followed closely by Basket Hounds at 19 points. Leopards Academy now sit firmly at third with 18 points, one point above Arcadia Bucs. Despite all their heroics in the past two gameweeks, Mbare Bulls were brought down to reality, and to the bottom of the table at fifth, now tied with cellar-dwellers UZ Stars at 14 points.
Gameweek 12 Wrap: Super Six Women’s
While all the action was in the Men’s division, all the drama was in the Women’s division.
The headline of the day was UZ Sparks’ forced forfeiture caused by their apparent late arrival to their fixture with fifth placed Bunnies.
Speaking to ZimSphere Sports on condition of anonymity, a source said that logistical challenges had initially delayed the Sparks’ arrival to Sunrise Sports Club.
However, they still managed to make it to the venue within the stipulated 15 minute grace period. This was all in vain, as officials argued that the Sparks ‘took too long to change’, and thus gave the game away to Bunnies.
The way the issue was handled raised suspicion of unfair treatment of the log leaders, as it is reported that other teams sometimes find themselves delaying for games, but they are allowed to play, in the spirit of sportsmanship and the overall good of the game.
Is this a conspiracy to try and dim the Sparks’ spark, perhaps? You never know.
In the other two games that were actually played, new girls Blades took their first win in the Super Six by way of a 48-24 win over Fillies. What a statement of intent!
ALSO READ: Enter Blades: Halfway into the Season, A New Team Joins HBA Super Six League
Point guard Verna Malikabu went home with the highest points of the day-12 points, while captain Thelma Gorederema posted 11 points.
In the last game of the Women’s division, second placed Vixens defeated bottom-of-the-table Harare City Hornets 74-28. Again, no surprises there.
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| Going forward, clear of the drama—Vixens team |
Despite all the hullabaloo, there was no movement on the standings of the Super Six Women’s Division.
UZ Sparks are still atop with 22 points, albeit with a slimmer lead over second placed Vixens who have 20 points. Blades’ win over Fillies takes them to 17 points on third. Fillies are fourth. Bunnies’ free points took them to 15 points, four ahead of bottom-placed Harare City Hornets.
Gameweek 13 Preview; Plus Delayed Games
Gameweek 13 of the HBA Super Six League will be played at the home of Harare basketball, Sunrise Sports Club, this time on a Sunday, the 11th. Games start at 1000.
In the first game of the day, Blades will be looking to make it two in a row vs bottom-table Harare City Hornets.
Log leaders UZ Sparks take on Fillies in the second game of the day. This is one to look out for, considering Sparks are coming back from a forced hiatus.
Second placed Vixens will be hoping to usurp first position from Sparks if they manage to win against fifth-placed Bunnies.
In the men’s division, Arcadia Bucs take on bottom-of-the-table UZ Stars. Expect this to be a high-scoring game, as Bucs will be looking to bounce back from their loss against Leopards.
Game 2 is a top-of-the-table clash between Basket Hounds and JBC, and this is the headline game of Gameweek 13. If Basket Hounds win, they might just leapfrog JBC to Number 1, albeit having played more games.
In the last game of the day, Mbare Bulls will be licking their wounds as they face Leopards Academy, who’ll be looking to make it three wins in a row.
If you’re a basketball fanatic, this is the best week of the season for you, as Gameweek 3 and 4’s delayed matches make it eight games in total this week.
On Wednesday the 14th, you can go watch basketball at Sunrise Sports Club as a perfect Valentine’s date.
Bunnies take on Harare City Hornets at 1800, followed by Arcadia Bucs vs JBC at 1930.
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