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Ricky Zililo Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe senior women’s basketball team is confident of sailing through to their second successive Afro-Basketball and All-Africa finals.

Zimbabwe’s last hurdle to the finals of both competitions are the qualifiers set for Bulawayo’s ZITF which start on Saturday and end on February 29.

They have to come out tops against South Africa, Seychelles, Botswana and Angola to earn the sole ticket to the continental championships.

The Afro-Basketball Championships will be co-hosted by Tunisia and Cameroon while the All-Africa Games will be held in Congo-Brazzaville later this year.

What gives Zimbabwe the hunger to make it to the finals is that they were at the last editions of the All-Africa Games held in Mozambique in 2011 and the 2013 Afro-Basketball Championships which were also in Maputo.

Laddy Munetsi, the Zimbabwe national women’s team coach, said their preparations are on course and the team was geared for the qualifiers.

“We’ve a squad of 15 players which we’ll be reducing to 12 either on Thursday evening or after our Friday training session. Remember we’ve been having weekend training camps since the beginning of the year and the players are in great shape. The pressure that we’re having is that of wanting to go back to the finals having been there in the last editions and it’ll be a great feeling to qualify in front of our home supporters,” said Munetsi.

Zimbabwe’s trio of Dorcas Marondera, Charity Chigumba and Yowana Nyangu, who are based in South Africa, are expected to play key roles in leading a group of locally-based players to qualify for the finals.

Squad: Melisa Majonga, Sharon Chamwarura (both Southern Mavericks), Geraldine Chiponda, Pretty Tinarwo (Lakers), Rumbidzai Dliwayo, Margaret Magwaro, Rachel Makoni, Charity Mukukuti, Kanyimo Margaret, Charity Chigumba (Vixens), Patience Chinhoyi (Real Returns), Yowana Nyangu (Wits University), Serina Chareka, Dorcas Marondera (South Africa), Isabel Ngweni (FML).