The Sunday Mail
SEVEN top flight volleyball clubs will converge at the University of Zimbabwe courts this weekend for a tournament to mark the fifth anniversary of Harare based side Non Academic Bachelors Association (Naba).
Naba is set to celebrate its fifth anniversary through an invitational tournament at the University of Zimbabwe.
The club will host its Harare Volleyball League rivals in commemorating its formation in a tourney that will also serve as a warm up for the season beginning in March.
Support Unit, Stanbic Thunder, Morris Depot, Belvedere Teachers College, Chapungu, UZ and JS Harare have confirmed their participation.
In the ladies category, the UZ Wolves, Support Unit, Morris Depot, Belvedere and Chapungu will battle for honors while Harare Institute of Technology and Harare Polytechnic are yet to confirm their availability.
Naba secretary general Hlakaniphani Maphosa said: “The Naba invitational tournament is meant to celebrate our fifth anniversary and we are aiming to make it an annual event.
“It is also an opportunity to show that clubs are capable of hosting tournaments,” he said.
The club enjoyed a successful 2014 season where they made a first appearance at the Region V Club Championships and reached the quarter-finals in Maputo.
On the local scene they reached the Zimbabwe Open finals where they lost to Railstars and in the Harare Volleyball Association mid-season tournament, Naba were third.
“Last year was our breakthrough year,” said Maphosa.
“We tasted the regional competition and I understand no local club reached the quarter-finals in its first appearance at the tournament.
“We are aiming to qualify again and go beyond our stage of exit during the last competition,” he added.
The club was formed “in a kitchen in Marlborough in 2010 by former UZ students, who played the game socially.
“But with time they thought they could compete against seasoned clubs.”
Naba joined the Harare League in 2012 and ever since they have been gradually improving turning themselves into a dangerous side.
