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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
THE Bulawayo Basketball Association (BBA) league is preparing for a busy second half of the 2017/18 season which begins on January 13, 2018.

A number of tournaments have been lined-up for the second part of a busy second half of the season, according to BBA secretary-general Admire Chafa.

“We did very well with the first part of the season, the league games went on very well. A number of outstanding fixtures from 2017 are going to be played this month. There are a number of tournaments coming up, including the inter-provincial and national league competitions. At the moment we are waiting for the national calendar and also the schools calendar so that we can start fixing the dates for the tournaments,” said Chafa.

BBA’s main goal is to enlist academies into their league as part of efforts to take the game to the people.

Chafa said their Achilles heel in both was general lack of funding.

“Our main cry in 2018 will be to get sponsors. The academies are the future of basketball, not only in Bulawayo, but the country as a whole. However, academy directors are failing to get funding for this initiative. The creation of a vibrant junior policy is key to the growth of the game in the country but we need to have financial support.

“We are going to move to the western suburbs, but the weather is not favourable at this time of the year given the venues we had in mind. As soon as the rains stop, we will surely have matches played elsewhere besides Khanyisile Sports Centre,” Chafa said.

The league approached Bulawayo City Council to use the tennis courts in Tshabalala and netball courts at White City Stadium as well as Nkulumane High School. — @innocentskizoe