The Sunday Mail
HARARE Basketball League newboys Glen View Rockets are a team of extremes.
On a good day they play a fantastic ball game and can beat some of the best teams, as epitomised by the way they inflicted title favourites Harare City Hornets with their first league defeat this year.
On a bad day Glen View Rockets behave like petty thugs.
Board member Nesbert Mabota has been banned from all basketball related activities after being found guilty of invading the court and charging towards a Cameo Sigauke player during a league game in February. Another team official Andrew Chininga is also banned after he assaulted a Varsity Leopards player. The team’s players are regulars before the Harare Basketball Association disciplinary committee.
However, new club chairman Peter Mushonga insists the side has started cleaning up its image.
“We want to make the headlines with our victories and not shenanigans,” he declared. “I was well acquainted with the club’s reputation when they approached me to become chairman. I knew what I was getting into and have been working hard towards addressing the situation.
“Every player has since signed a new code of conduct contract, which clearly states rules and regulations about how we conduct ourselves on and off the court.”
Mushonga reckons the forthcoming Basketball Union of Zimbabwe National Championship is the perfect platform for Rockets to make a positive statement.
“Like any other team in the country, we want to win the national title,” he said. “The only difference is that, we view the title as a starting point; a chance to clean the slate and start all over again. This is our chance to prove to everyone, that the past is the past and it’s now time to move on.”
Rockets, who wind down their league commitments today with a tie against Cheetahs at Richwood, recently lost talisman Nathan Warikanda to cash-rich City Hornets.
Warikanda’s departure saw Mushonga persuading coach Allan Tengunde into playing again and the former national team player looks set to feature in the national championships at the end of April.
