The Sunday Mail
Deputy Sports Editor
AS the country anxiously awaits the safe return of sport, no one appears more eager than basketball starlet-turned-coach, Edmund Mtetwa.
On the surface of his anxiety is the fruition of his dream to see his beloved Cavaliers Basketball Club back on the horizon of the Harare Basketball Association A League.
More importantly is the emotional attachment to it, which is premised on the love for the late Cavaliers legend Ronald Garura.
“No one has more Cavs blood running through his veins than Edmund,” said Selby Dzengerere, a former Cavs chairman — 2002-2010. “He approached us with his intention to revive the club some two years back and it being something we should have done already, I took the issue to some of the clubs’ stakeholders and they had no problems with that. We gave him our blessings,” he said. When Covid-19 struck, Cavs, with 26 points, were in contention for promotion from the HBA ‘B’ League, and involved in a three-way tussle for the B League title with Galaticos (28) and Harare Sons (25). “Cavs have a very good chance of gaining promotion when and if the league resumes and some of the former players and stakeholders whom I have been in touch with have pledged to support the team.
“It’s a different ball game once one makes it to the A League and he will need administrative and technical support.
“It remains his project, but we will assist in any way we can,” Dzengerere said.
As for Mtetwa, the Cavs’ revival is a tribute to his idol Garura. Born February 13, 1971 in the then Rhodesia, the late Garura is a Zimbabwe and Cavs legend who started playing basketball at primary level, at St John’s Emerald Hill, before making the jump to the Cavs and Zimbabwe teams, where he played and coached both.
Garura represented Mashonaland provincial team, then got into the national team and played at the All-Africa Games in 1995, before making the jump to coaching the junior and senior national teams.
He however, passed away in 2012 after a short illness while in South Africa, and it is his legacy that Mtetwa hopes to keep alive through the revival of Cavs.
“I joined Cavaliers back in 2001 and credit both the club and coach Garura for my basketball career.
“I used to fancy myself a footballer and could have pursued it were it not for the Cavs and Garura who put me on the path towards basketball.
“I followed Cavs, specifically Garura whom I was a huge fan of, and it became my dream to one day play for Cavs,” Mtetwa said.
His dream somewhat came true, but not in the way he expected as Dzengerere explains.
“As a kid he never missed a Cavs game and I am yet to meet a bigger Garura fan than Mtetwa.
“When he joined the club, competition was stiff and his biggest obstacle was his height, and so he played for the Cavs B side.
“We actually played a few games together and he was an immensely talented player,” said Dzengerere.
Mtetwa then moved to Varsity Leopards and a slew of other teams over the years, but the one thing that has never wavered was his love for Garura and Cavs.
“Cavs has a rich history, starting off in 1963 as part and parcel of Dynamos Football Club. It had some of the country’s biggest basketball players like Hugh Hofisi, Ray Madzudzo and Garura himself for the men and the likes of Mary Murombedzi, Tarisai Kambarami and Anna Mguni for the women.
“This is in addition to winning many titles — part and parcel of the legacy I hope to keep alive.
“The club is open to all, and we will try to cater for as many age-groups as possible in the long run. For now, it is just about keeping the Cavs and Garura names alive and making sure we return back to the A League,” said Mtetwa.
