Police IX continue to wreak havoc
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday April 14, 2023 13:00
Over Easter, softball action returned to the diamond mining town of Jwaneng after a two-year absence and the Police teams proved their mettle, grabbing the title in both men's and women's categories.
However, it was not a smooth ride for the women's side as they lost 2-0 to cross-town rivals Titans in the build-up to the final. The two sides went on to meet in the final where it was sweet revenge for Police who won 1-0 to earn the bragging rights, together with the winners' trophy. The men’s side won the championship after thrashing Gatalamotho 5-1.
Catcher, Rannaneng Mothudi scooped Best Catcher award. Women’s coach, Phibion Tawina told Mmegi Sport that the plan ahead of the tournament was to maintain the momentum. “Of course, we always have room for disappointment, to lose but not to be embarrassed. We always want to reach the final and win the final.
'Losing to Titans was a good thing because we could have lost that game in the final. So, the loss served as a wake-up call to us, to say that we should go back to the drawing board and strategise,” he said.
He said they went into the final level headed, knowing they needed the game more than their opponent while Titans believed that the title belonged to them. Tawina said playing the tournament, especially the final with a young pitcher, Merriam Leave, who normally is a reserve to Onneetse Ribbin, was an ace up the sleeve.
“She has shown growth as a pitcher, she managed to defend the 1-0 lead in the final, she pitched the whole tournament and she got the best pitcher of the tournament award. Leave was a surprise package for everyone, our opponents expected us to field Ribbin. Her absence was psychological warfare,” he said. The Easter tournament was the first to be played this year since the Independence tournament last September. Tawina said it is difficult to keep players in shape when there is no action. Despite that, Tawina who is the women’s national team coach, said it is difficult to gauge the level of competition. “It was scrappy in some areas due to lack of action.
But teams have lowered the standards, and keeping players sharp without action is difficult. This is going to affect the national team because do we realise that these competitions are feeders to the national team,” Tawina said. Botswana qualified for the XVII WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup group stage, after finishing second to South Africa.
The group stages will be played in July in Ireland. “With only one tournament played, national team not training, you wonder how prepared are we,” he added. Meanwhile, Tawina gave gratitude to Ghetto Yankees player, Tshegofatso Gaetepele who walked away with three awards; best batter, best fielder and most valuable player (MVP). Tawina said Gaetepele is a talented player and she was present during the national team trials. “It is unfortunate that when we did our final selection, she was not availed.
I am not saying she could have been in or out. She could have proven herself. However, discipline is key, she should not lose it before she has it. She should remain level headed, she is the future of this nation,” Tawina said. The men's and women's teams each walked away with a P20,000 cash prize. Police club chairperson, Diketso Gaborone said both teams were ready for the challenge, starting from the eliminations, Gaborone said with the way the teams played showed clearly that they were up to something massive going forward.
Regarding the absence of Ribbin, Gaborone said the pitcher had work commitments. “If you have a seasoned catcher like Magdeline Mmapitsa you can do wonders, she got an individual award for Best Catcher and that is her award almost every tournament. She gelled with Leave, you can see that everyone in the team is working hard to play on their respective position,” Gaborone said.
He said the next step is to wait for the upcoming tournaments because as a champion, there is always a target on their backs. “We are not going to relax, we will keep working hard to achieve more. We still have a long way to go. For now, we have enough squads on both teams, but like we are always saying, we will keep searching for young talent for the future,” Gaborone said.