Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Bulawayo Basketball Association (BBA) has called for an emergency meeting this evening to discuss ways of saving sinking Highlanders Basketball Club, a day before the start of the season.
Fourteen teams comprising seven men’s and seven women’s have registered for the new season and BBA hopes its meeting with Highlanders’ representatives will see the club changing heart and participating in the 2016/17 season.
The men’s teams that will compete for honours in the new season are defending champions Southern Mavericks, Giants, Oilers, Nust, LSU, City Knights and an army outfit making its maiden season Ostrich.
Southern Mavericks, Lakers Senior, Nust, Angels, Lakers Junior, LSU and Mustang Divas, a group of ex-basketball players coming out of retirement, will battle it out in the women’s category.
The BBA board is hopeful they will find a solution to Highlanders’ problems and have the club, which finished fifth and sixth in the men’s and women’s categories last season, taking part in the new campaign.
“Our season starts tomorrow with all games set to be played at Khanyisile Sports centre, formerly Bulawayo Club for the Disabled (BCD). We’re looking forward to an exciting season. All the teams are eagerly waiting for the first bounce,” said Howard Phangwana, BBA secretary-general.
“On a disturbing note, the BBA board is meeting tomorrow evening to look into Highlanders’ issue. We’re told they’ve been hit by a player exodus and as a board we’ve scheduled a meeting with their representatives so that we see how we can assist until they find their feet.
“What puzzles us is that Highlanders, one of the oldest clubs a few weeks back successfully hosted a Bosso 90 celebratory tournament and now they’re on the verge of collapsing,” said Phangwana.
Fixtures
Tomorrow: Divas v Lakers Junior (12PM), Lakers Senior v LSU (1:30PM), Nust v LSU (3PM), Southern Mavericks v Angels (4:30PM), Ostrich v Giants (6PM), Oilers v Southern Mavericks (7:30PM)
Nust women and City Knights have byes — @ZililoR.