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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter 

BASKETBALL Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ) is hoping to retain hosting rights of the rescheduled fourth edition of the Southern Africa 3×3 basketball tournament.

Zimbabwe was given the rights to host the competition last year, but the tournament was scrapped due to outbreak of Covid-19.

Bulawayo had been identified as the host city of the Under-18 competition dubbed “Three Lions 3×3 Southern Cup” after winning the last edition held in 2019 in Botswana.

Following its failure to send the Under-18 side to DR Congo for the 3×3 World Cup qualifiers, BUZ is hoping that when Covid-19 eases, they will be able to participate in and even host the Young Lions South Tournament.

“Presently there’s nothing we can do because of the pandemic. There isn’t much we can do in terms of planning, but we hope to participate in the tournament and even host it once this pandemic is contained and sporting activities resume. The 3×3 format is a developing format, one that we’ve identified as key for the development of basketball in Zimbabwe,” said BUZ president Joe Mujuru.

The 3×3 Young Lions Cup South is a Youth Leadership and Basketball development project launched in 2017 and runs in the southern part of the continent.

Winning teams from each tournament are invited to international events and take part in workshops aimed at furthering their understanding of the format.

Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe are among the nations that have taken part in the tournament.