Mercenaries (basketball)

Mercenaries is a basketball club based in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Since 2006, the team has competed in the Manicaland Basketball Association (MBA), winning a league championship in each season.

Mercenaries
Mercenaries logo
LeaguesManicaland Basketball Association
Founded2004; 20 years ago (2004)
LocationMutare, Zimbabwe
Team colors     
Head coachInnocent Sithole
Championships1 National Championship
13 Manicaland League

History

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Mercenaries was founded in 2004 by a group of friends from Mutare, led by Innocent Sithole, who hoped to make money playing together in basketball tournaments. In 2006, the club joined the Manicaland Basketball Association (MBA). Since then, it has won 13 consecutive league titles without losing a single game.[1]

In 2019, Mercenaries won its first National Basketball Club Championship, becoming the first team from outside Harare and Bulawayo to do so.[2]

Honours

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Zimbabwe National Championship

  • Champions (1): 2019

Manicaland Basketball Association

  • Champions (13): 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

In African competitions

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BAL Qualifiers (1 appearance)

2020 – First Round

Personnel

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Current roster

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The following is the Mercenaries roster for the 2020 BAL Qualifying Tournaments:[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Mercenaries roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name
2   Jumburu, Timothy
PG 5   Chitsinde, Tawanda
G 8   Njovo, Tinashe
10   Muchakubvura, Peterson
11   Sanyatwe, Trevor-Joe
12   Sithole, Innocent
14   Pfachi, Dyvonne
C 15   Chivanganye, Neville
SG 21   Maturure, Tatenda
23   Dowera, Tanaka
35   Tswatswa, Tatenda
Head coach

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  •   Injured

Updated: 2 November 2019

Notable players

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

References

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  1. ^ Tichawangana, Tafadzwa (10 May 2019). "Hail the Mercenaries!". The Manica Post. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  2. ^ Ruzh, Fiona (8 May 2019). "Mercenaries make b-ball history". H-Metro. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  3. ^ Mercenaries at FIBA.com
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