Head coach for the national basketball team Ellery Pinkerton said his troops will continue to hold community engagements as they prepare for the Afro Basketball Championships finals in Tunisia.

On Tuesday, the team visited Chinembiri Training Centre in Mbare where they helped to serve food to orphans at the home.

The visit to Chinembiri came after the players had a car wash and braai pack sales at Kingfisher Park in Harare on Sunday.

Pinkerton says that the team is trying to emulate players from the prestigious National Basketball Association who give back to the people who support the team.

“The team has seen what players from the NBA do for their communities, so this is what these boys are trying to do.

“It’s good for the players, it’s good for the community to get a chance to interact with the guys. “This way the players will know that they have support at home where ever they go,” Pinkerton said.

Besides endearing the team more with the community, Pinkerton feels the activities help to build a bond among the players.

“Having the players humbling themselves amongst other people is amazing and it also gels the team together so they can work as a single unit.

“We want to let Zimbabwe know what basketball is and that the basketball team is the players putting in all the work taking Zimbabwe basketball to places,” said the coach.

At Chinembiri , the players partnered With Love Foundation, a charity that runs soups kitchens in Mbare every fortnight.

Taurai Chitsinga captain of the team also said he was happy with the work the Afro basket team is doing in giving back to the community since they qualified in February.

“We want the community at large to know what basketball is about and this is what basketball is about, giving back to the community,” Chitsinga said.