Dinaledi strike gold in Singapore
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday December 12, 2022 15:30
Fiji will be part of the World Netball Cup to be held in Cape Town next year.
Botswana had never won the Nations Cup since their maiden appearance in 2008. They had the best tournament recording an undefeated streak in all the matches that they played at the OCBC Arena in Singapore.
Botswana had a second bite of the cherry after beating Fiji in the first game 60-43. Dinaledi had a walk in the park during the tournament beating highly ranked teams, Fiji (15), Ireland (24), Malaysia (27) and Singapore (30).
Botswana was ranked 30 ahead of the tournament. Botswana registered victories against Singapore invitational side (50-31, Singapore (71-21), Malaysia (67-38) and Ireland (66-31). Botswana, led by Jenny van Dyk, went into the tournament as underdogs but that did not deter them from redeeming themselves. Dinaledi won the first quarter 17-6 and when the two sides went for recess, the side had stretched the lead to 36-17. The girls continued where they left off when they took the game beyond the reach of Fiji Pearl to 52-27.
Botswana Netball Association (BONA) public relations officer, Mokeresete Mokeresete said this is a huge a milestone for netball. He said there is no moment bigger than this in the history of Botswana netball. “This is our first major championship victory for our senior women national team. We have never won any competition of this magnitude before,” he said.
Mokeresete said they have been working hard with the national team and are grateful for the success at the Nations Cup. He said the win came at a time when it was needed the most and it acts as a motivation as BONA is striving to build a formidable team. “It was a good year for netball with two international trophies. Remember that the men’s national team won the Lesotho Men’s Tri-Nations Cup, which had South Africa in August,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dinaledi received a pat on the back from President Mokgweetsi Masisi on his office Facebook page. “I would like to congratulate the Botswana national netball team for winning the Singapore Nations Cup after beating Fiji 65-37 in the final to claim their first silverware in the competition since 2008. Our ladies went into the tournament as underdogs and managed to play the entire tournament undefeated.
They gave an outstanding performance and we praise them for their achievement,” Masisi said in his post. Shooting statistics: Botswana - 65/76 (86%). Boikanyo Selogetso - 33/36 (92%) Hildah Binang - 19/24 (79%), Margaret Banda - 3/5 (60%) Cheludo David - 10/11 (91%) Match statistics: Rebounds - 11 Pick-ups - 4 Intercepts -15 Deflections - 13, Circle feeds -72 Penalties - 42.
Dinaledi: 65 Fiji Pearls: 37