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Tedious Manyepo Sports Reporter
NATIONAL basketball champions Harare City Hornets underlined their growing status as a regional powerhouse with a polished display which earned them a silver medal in the Swaziland International Invitational tournament in Mbabane over the weekend.

Hornets lost 53-65 to South African giants Jozi Nuggets in a thrilling final on Sunday night. Ironically, the Harare A League and Bob@93 kings played the bridesmaids’ role to the same opponents at the same event last year.

Hornets secretary-general Forster Manhezho feels the team could have done better. They were brilliant in the group stages where they outwitted their opponents with relative ease to post a record points difference of 164 in a five-team Pool B before dismantling Phoenix and Munali Suns in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.

Before their departure last week, everyone at the capital city club had sounded positive they would find the formula to win gold at the tournament. But the more experienced Jozi Nuggets found a way to keep their determined opponents at bay.

“It is just unfortunate. We did everything we needed to do but our opponents used their experience to outwit us. “We could have beaten them with a little beat of luck but somehow we failed to convert some chances which came our way.

“But I would like to congratulate the boys for the show. Hornets was always going to be the team to beat and the way we crushed every team we met before the final was telling in terms of our intentions.

“We are obviously disappointed that for the second year running we have come short against the same opponents. “But, overally, we are happy to be heading back home with a silver medal.

“It was a good tournament and I believe it provided us with a good platform to prepare our team for the forthcoming African Club Championships to be held in Botswana in September-October,” said Manhezho.

Another Zimbabwean club JBC were eliminated in the semi-finals by Jozi Nuggets. In the women’s category national champions Green Stars gave a good account of themselves to reach the quarter-finals.

The competition, which had 25 male and as many female clubs, attracted representatives from Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and the hosts Swaziland.