Dunking all the way to success

22 Jun, 2014 - 03:06 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

During the day he attends to his poultry business, at night he turns to his passion. Agrippa Masvisvi (pictured) is good at both. He doesn’t have awards to show for his chicken venture but recently he was voted as the Harare Basketball League Most Valuable player.

The 25-year-old utility man landed the top gong after a season of “mixed fortunes”.
His team Cameo missed out on the HBA title to JBC and Masvisvi feels team success comes first hence he hasn’t made much of the MVP accolade.

“Hard work pays. It paid off for me this season, but not for the team because we lost the league,” he laments.
“It would have been more pleasing to win the award in the same season that the team won the league but that was not the case this year.

“The team always comes first for me, basketball is a team sport and there is no way I could have won this award without the support of my teammates.”

Despite the rave reviews Masvisvi insists that the MVP accolade will not get to his head.
“It feels great, you know, when you work hard, everything falls in place and when you get encouragement from teammates and your coaches, you have nothing to lose, you just get onto the court and deliver,” said the utility player who also won the monthly MVP award in April and May.

“I work hard and do not let petty stuff get into my head; most players tend to relax when they are voted MVPs and forget that they have to continue working to make themselves better.

“I will continue working hard, running at the Kopje and more importantly listen to my coaches’ instructions every time.”

Basketball is one sport the country has talent and potential to shine at the international stage, but the dearth of funding has resulted in subdued success.

Masvisvi, who resides in the satellite town of Chitungwiza, tells a story that has become familiar in local sports — work then play!

He believes the love for basketball nullifies all the negativity and remains optimistic fortunes will change.
“Commitment drives us, it is all about the heart. It doesn’t matter what challenges you are facing. Passion drives one to where they aspire to be.

“In regional countries like Angola and Mozambique players get paid for playing ball because their leagues are professional, but here in Zimbabwe we just play for the love of the game.

“We have talent in Zimbabwe but some good players are losing heart because of the financial challenges. If we had sponsorship we would be one of the best ball-playing teams in Africa.

“However, I am an optimist and believe everything will work out for our economy and the sport as well,” he said.
With the game he loves unable to put food on the table Masvisvi has to earn his keep in the chicken run.

“I rear about 500 chickens at a time and supply some restaurants in Chitungwiza and I have no complaints with the returns.

“Naturally my dream is to be a big time chicken producer who owns a farm and employs hundreds of people,” said Masvisvi.

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