The Sunday News
IT’S 24-23 and should the leading team block any of the Sparrows Thabani spikers, Shakes Ncube, brothers Clifford and Mike Makunike, at Tshaka Youth Centre Court A the volleyball match would be over as a contest.
A serve by Unit Fairbridge’s Themba Moyo to the Sparrows Thabani back three of Sairota Banda, Silas Nyabadza and Vusa Mpofu has a number of possibilities.
One is it may not cross the net, second one is that it may land outside the opposition court and allow the opposition to get a point in the dreaded tennis count (ingondongondo).
The third possibility is that one of the three defenders may have poor reception and send his dig over the wall to Stanley Square from Tshaka Youth Centre.
The fourth is that the ball will get to the setter and it would be up to one of the three spikers to try and penetrate a Unit Fairbridge block with Patrick Ncube, Clive Sibanda or Jairos Nyirenda.
This then would require the other five Sparrows players to be on the alert for the blocked ball falling on their court.
The fifth eventuality is a successful attack with the ball not returned by Fairbridge leaving Sparrows at 24-24 with bitter enemies.
Referee Themba Ndlovu, himself a Scorpions player blows the whistle, over the net the ball comes. With aplomb of a veteran being among the first black players to take to the sport, Banda gives setter Sydney Dube a perfect bump.
Clifford takes off for his customary first tempo attack, with Mike following close for what has become a feature in the Sparrows attack, a second tempo raid, in a flash Dube sends the ball over the net to a hole in the Fairbridge defence and it’s a point taking the game to a nailbiting finish with both teams now at 24-24.
The 1987-1993 era represents a period of great rivalry between Support Unit Fairbridge and Sparrows Thabani, two clubs who shared all silverware before them in the province of Bulawayo after the demise of Blue Ribbon Raiders.
It was the ultimate volleyball clash. There is no doubt small teams’ players from Scorpion, School of Signals, Highlanders, Indlovu and Hwange Grizzlers cared about reaching the final of any tournament.
They were like schoolchildren from Ihlathi, Entumbane, Gifford, Milton, Inyathi, Pumula, Magwegwe, Mzilikazi and Sobukhazi all too eager to watch the pinnacle of the tournament, a final featuring Sparrows Thabani and Unit Fairbridge. The fans would evenly be split with Sparrows representing the civilians while UFB as Fairbridge were affectionately known in the volleyball circles were the best among uniformed services’ teams.
Dube who had a glittering career with several pieces of silverware from his school days at Sobukhazi in the early 1980s, at Sparrows and Zimbabwe, will go down in history as one of the best setters Bulawayo and the country have seen. Barely 1,77m in height, his blocking on the front court belied his vertical challenges. He had a good jump, good ball handling skills, and his defence and court movement told of a player who was not only talented but passionate about his game.
A smile always accompanied each of his moves and a burst of laughter followed every time he sent a second ball across the net catching flatfooted opponents, akimbo. On the front court blockers would be left violently clutching onto the innocent volleyball net as Sparrows went a point up.
It was by accident that Dube switched to volleyball. As a teenager his passion was boxing and with childhood Nguboyenja friend, Clifford Makunike later to be a teammate at Sobukhazi, Sparrows, Matabeleland and the national team, they trained at Tshaka Youth Centre. But an accident earlier in Dube’s life saw one of his hands stitched and from time to time he felt pain.
He speaks highly of the Bulawayo City Council youth clubs set up and instructors of that time.
“It was at Tshaka Youth Centre that Sairota Banda identified me and asked me to come to volleyball. I started training with Sparrows Thabani as a 15-year-old.
“About the following year volleyball spread to schools with us among the pioneers with friends like Clifford. Schools like Ihlathi, Inyathi, Luveve, Hamilton, Msitheli were among the first ones. Banda had seen potential in me and invested in training me to be the setter I got to be,” said Dube.
A setter in volleyball is a playmaker who tosses the ball high for the other players to hit over the net to score if spike is not returned.
Dube says he was inspired by the late legendary Sparrows, Unit Fairbridge and Matabeleland attacker Jefias Gumbo.
When Dube entered the scene the top setters were Chris Titterten of Wild Geese and Dave Manickum of Blue Ribbon Raiders.
He made his Sparrows debut in 1983 though facing stiff competition from marketing executive Sihlangu Dlodlo, who was until then the Sparrows preferred setter. It was at the mid-season tournament in which his club beat the Patrick Staddon coached Raiders which boasted of players like Denzil Essof, Moideen Marwa and Richard Bismark.
Sparrows had Gumbo, Clifford and stocky Themba Ndlovu who later turned out for Scorpions.
In 1986 as part of a team that included Gumbo, Clifford, Titterten, Banda and Jairos Nyirenda that was coached by Nicholas Mavunde, Matabeleland won the inter-provincials title. They dominated the competition up to 1990 and returned to Gweru in 1992 for Dube to claim his fifth title.
“There was great club competition in the city. The rivalry between the top clubs Wild Geese, Portuguese, Indlovu, Sparrows and Blue Ribbon Raiders was great, this was before the arrival of Fairbridge a club we literally trained at Tshaka before they like Scorpions, the army side poached some of our players and gave them employment,” said Dube.
Dube said in those days of the mid-80s there was healthy competition among the setters with former Msitheli pupil Togara Machokoto and Manickum among the best in Matabeleland.
The toughest attackers he said were Banda, Gumbo, Clifford, Witness Martin and Jairos Nyirenda. At national level he said Wild Cats and Manolios Spikers of Harare were no pushovers. He said the 1986-87 period saw the rise of two spikers Clive Sibanda and the late Patrick Ncube who would spearhead Fairbridge to many cup conquests around the country and the 1993 Zone Six Club Championships.
In 1990 when Zimbabwe played host to the Zone Six Championships, Dube earned his first national team cap.
“Clifford, Nyirenda and Jeffrey Mlauzi made it from Bulawayo and we teamed up with the Mhuru brothers Lucky and Simba and their Airforce of Zimbabwe setter James Sibenge. We won the event and I never looked back thereafter.
“We were to tour Namibia for the president’s inauguration in 1991. The team had guys like Felix Shoko, Sere Chirenje, Rodney and Gavin Alwanger, Derrick Ibrahim and Patrick Ncube with Terry Peters as coach. We were to travel to Malawi too for the Zone Six finishing second to Zambia, a nation that I would say gave us a torrid time in those years with setter Best Nkhoma outstanding,” said Dube.
Dube won every tournament on the Matabeleland cabinets in his career and several setter and best player of the tournament awards.
He rates the Raiders attack of Marwa and Bismark as one of the best. On the block he said they were great as well.
Dube said Fairbridge too gave him a torrid time because Gumbo knew his moves and attacks as he had also mentored him at Sparrows.
The most devastating attackers he faced were Patrick Ncube and Nsikelelo Malawi Mlauzi of Fairbridge who had tact and power to penetrate any defence and rearguard.
He spoke highly of fellow Zimbabwe and Matabeleland setting counterpart Dumisani Vundla.
“He was brilliant with his jump sets and they often deceived opponents. He could block and turn to spike when least expected to,” added Dube.
Dube could not make it to the 1995 All-Africa Games team after being shortlisted among the 30 players. He was among the many volleyballers identified by the association to help run the tournament in Bulawayo and they gave a five-star delivery.
He called upon provincial associations to work hand in glove with schools to improve the game. The challenge he said was on the volleyballers to brand their own sport before the corporate sector can find the sport a viable medium to partner.
The backbone of volleyball in his playing days he said was the schools development initiative and sponsorship from companies like Alvercote Technology, Blue Ribbon, Esats, Edgars and Thabani Beer.
Dube retired in 2007, exactly 25 years after being recruited by Banda.
He paid tribute to the Bulawayo City Council for providing facilities and demonstrators in a number of disciplines in the past which was the boon for sports development in the city.
Dube has, however, picked up his knee guards and is now among a number of legends who include Banda, Vulindlela Moyo, Tawanda Makombe, Mailos Ncube, Deus Sakala, Khanyile Dlamini and Conrad Kupara who are playing social volleyball.
