KINGSTONE ZIMUNYA
HARARE – The last Gameweek of Round 4 of the 2023-2024 HBA Super Six played on Saturday the 23rd of March came with a flurry of high-scoring games that made the delay in commencement worth it.
Despite the late start, the matches got off to a thoroughly entertaining start, and stayed so right until the end.
In the Women’s Division, the highlights were Bunnies’ first win in March as well as Vixens losing steam versus a well-organised Sparks.
In the Men’s Division, high-flying Mbare Bulls were brought down to earth by Arcadia Bucs, while leaders JBC suffered their third defeat of the season at the hands of in-form Basket Hounds.
As we enter the final round of matches, the standings remained unchanged for both the Mens’ and Womens’ Division, although the Men’s table is now a little tighter.
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| Catching the baskets — The crowd at Gameweek 20 of the HBA Super Six League [Image: Renda Media] |
Gameweek 20 Review: Men’s
Leopards get a bite out of Stars
In the first game of the Men’s Division, Leopards recovered from a recent slump in form by way of an 80-65 triumph over bottom-placed UZ Stars. Leopards scored a whopping 32 points in the first quarter and they never took their foot off the pedal; leading the entire game.
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| Tatenda Matuture (Number 14) rises for al layup in Gameweek 20 vs UZ Stars [Image: Renda Media] |
Simbarashe Chitsungwe led the points tally with 21 points, while Chris Nadolo impressed with 15 points 5 rebounds. Tatenda Matuture took the first double-double of the day with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Munashe Makumbe scored 11 points.
On the Stars bench, captain Brendon Muvaka led the chase with 20 points, while Dallas Samusodza managed his own ouble-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds. Tamuka ‘Spida’ Chikanya put up yet another star performance with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Adoration Murombo went home with 10 points.
Bucs tame Bulls
In the second game, Arcadia Bucs bounced back to winning ways in a neck-and-neck game versus Mbare Bulls that ended 66-59.
The Viv Manuel-coached side started the game on the backfoot, losing the first quarter 18-11. They, however, bounced back in the second quarter and went to halftime one point up.
Bucs put the nail in the coffin in the final quarter, which they took 23-8. They capitalised on Bulls’ errors, taking 24 points from turnovers.
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| Taurai Kazembe goes for a layup in Gameweek 20 vs Mbare Bulls [Image: Renda Media] |
Bucs’ starman Fred Alick shined in Gameweek 20, posting a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Taurai Kazembe delivered a decent 11-4-4, while ex-JBC man Panashe Kaduya finished the day with 11 points and 7 rebounds.
On the Bulls bench, Dvonne Pfachi shined with a double-double of 15-10-6, matched by Zion Fortune’s second consecutive double-double of 14 points 11 rebounds. Warren Tegama scored 13 points.
In-form Hounds hand JBC their third defeat
The final game of the day was a thriller between log leaders JBC and second-placed Basket Hounds that ended 91-88 in favour of Basket Hounds.
The explosive clash went into two overtimes with both teams jostling it out for both the bragging rights and the crucial points as we reach the end of the season.
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| Tip-off at Sunrise Sports Club for the final game of the day — JBC vs Basket Hounds [Image: Renda Media] |
The three points that separated this top-of-the-table clash have further dented JBC’s reputation as the unassailable invincibles. Hounds started the game in the lead, going to halftime with a 7-point lead.
A spirited fightback by JBC in the second half resulted in a final score of 74-74 that had to be decided in overtime. After a tied first overtime, Hounds then settled it in the second overtime, taking it 12-9.
Starman Innocent Zhomwa proved the cog in the Hounds machine as he finished the day with 30 points 9 rebounds. Coming off the high of a career-high, Sydney Bobo delivered a stunning 20-5-4.
Manyeza took home the fifth double-double of the day with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Tavonga Muvezwa delivered 11 points and 5 rebounds.
On the JBC bench, Tashinga Chiimba had his own double-double of 31 points and 15 rebounds. Manoah Ntini took the other double-double on the JBC lineup with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Padera scored 12 points, while Mukukula finished the day with 11 points and 5 rebounds.
Standings
After an explosive Gameweek 20, the standings remain unchanged. JBC are on top with 33 points and two games in hand. Basket Hounds and Arcadia Bucs remain second and third with 32 points.
Mbare Bulls are fourth with 27 points while Leopards Academy follow closely with 27 points and a game in hand. UZ Stars also have a game in hand, and sit at the bottom with 21 points.
Gameweek 20 Review: Women’s
Blades win over Hornets, of course
For bottom-placed Hornets, it surely never rains but pours. In Gameweek 20, they met an in-form Blades that just couldn’t lose, handing them a 62-25 walloping where every Blades player who was on the bench managed a basket.
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| Blades head coach Andrew Chitauro instructs his charges in Gameweek 20 vs Harare City Hornets [Image: Lost Essence Studio] |
Tanaka Zvinake led the points tally with 12 points.
We managed to catch up with Aunt Gavaza who scored 10 points, after the game and she had this to say;
“I’m feeling great. Personally, for me it’s a big comeback, I hadn’t been playing basketball for a while.”
The multi-talented Gavaza had taken a hiatus from the HBA Super Six to focus on another sport – handball.
On Gameweek 20, she showed that she is back and better than ever; and assured fans of her continued availability for the remaining games of the 2023-2024 season.
“I’m now coming back to the system of basketball. Most of my teammates, we played together during our Blue Stars days, so it’s been easy to get back to it,” mentioned Gavaza.
Bunnies get back to winning ways
After a torrid March marked by a forfeiture and back-to-back defeats, Bunnies bounced back in a major way on Gameweek 20, thrashing fifth-placed Fillies-70 25.
Bunnies were in no mood to play, never letting up on the lead they took in the first quarter. They restricted Fillies to just 8 points the entire first half.
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| Fillies' Tariro Zvinisai (in blue) in action during Gameweek 20 vs Bunnies. [Image: Lost Essence Studio] |
Fillies found some fire in the third quarter, but that was all in vain as the Bunnies went on a 14-point scoring run in the final quarter to seal the game.
ZimSphere Sports managed to catch up with an ecstatic Coach Benjamin Jani of Bunnies after the game, who revealed his game plan getting into Gameweek 20 as;
“What we had to do was play a running game and not let them settle. Fillies is a good team they have good shooters, so we had to make sure that we put pressure from the get go and use the best physique that we have.”
As expected, the super-duo of Fadzai Munongo and Maria Mutengo did most of the heavy lifting for Bunnies, scoring 19 points and 11 points respectively. Does this mean the coach has grown an overreliance on the two?
“We do have exceptional players (like Fadzai and Maria) on the team, but at the same time, basketball is a game of IQ, you have to think basketball. For this particular game, we had to run, but overall, we’d like to play a more structured game where we involve all the players on the court at that time,” answered Coach Jani.
Kudzai Muringazuva also impressed for Bunnies in Gameweek 20, scoring 14 points and taking 9 rebounds.
Vixens capitulate to Sparks
The final game of the Women’s Division was a nail-biting encounter between leaders Sparks and second-placed Vixens that ended 50-42 in favour of the undefeated Sparks..
Vixens started the game on the front foot, taking a 7-5 lead in a tense first quarter and going to the break three points ahead. However, Sparks turned on the flair in the second half, scoring 18 points per quarter that ultimately gave them the win.
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| Neck and neck — Action in the final game of the Women's Division [Image: Lost Essence Studio] |
Sparks took advantage of some crucial errors by Vixens in the final stages of the game to go home with the win. They took 20 points from turnovers that made waste of Vixens’ 22 minutes in the lead.
Speaking to ZimSphere Sports, UZ Sparks head coach Tongai Munaku was beaming after such a tactical masterclass, saying;
“A match is a marathon. The most important thing is to plan something and execute it well. I stuck to my plan and it worked.”
So, what was the plan?
They (Vixens) are a bit unfit. So, we tried to work them hard, and then increase the tempo after we had tired them out,” answered Coach Munaku.
It was Francisca Sekete’s three-point dagger in the final quarter that sealed the win for Sparks, and that was also part of the game plan, as Coach Munaku put it;
“We put her there for a reason, same as Stella (Chiwokore). We noticed Vixens was sitting in too deep, so during the later stages of the game is when we started unleashing our three-point shooters.”
The victory was truly a well-orchestrated team effort, but as usual, some names will stand out on the stat sheet. Tadiwa Mabika impressed with 14 points and 6 rebounds, while Sharon Chamwarura took home 10 points.
It was a Vixens player, Charity Mucucuti, who led the points tally on the day with 17 points
Standings
As we get into the final round of matches, it seems the positions in the Women’s Division are now set in stone.
UZ Sparks are in the lead with 38 points, four ahead of second placed Vixens at 34 points. Blades are third with 31 points, also four points ahead of their closest rival Bunnies who have 27 points.
Fillies are fifth with 25 points, while Hornets are firmly at the bottom with 20 points.
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