Sparks expected at Mascom volleyball finals
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday October 7, 2023 06:00
The excitement started building during the semi-finals despite the windy conditions that made ball control difficult. Kutlwano men booked a spot in the final against BDF VI.
It was not an easy journey for Kutlwano as they had a mountain to climb against UB but won 3-0. On the other hand, BDF had to pull all the stops to overcome Spiking Stars 3-2 in a tough semi-final. Police VI has a date against Mafolofolo in the women’s final. Police are no stranger in the final after winning the Liquid Open volleyball tournament that was held last December.
The side stamped a ticket to the final by walloping Spiking Stars 3-0. However, Mafolofolo will not be a walkover as they punished Kutlwano during the semi-final with a convincing 3-0 win. Police coach, Shimaka Ngwanaotsile said it is an achievement to reach the finals. “It was not easy at all, we struggled during the tournament. When playing a tournament after a long break, you need to have a large pool of players. My team was playing without substitutes. We were just risking to play with one setter and two centre blockers,” he said.
Ngwanaotsile said even for outside attackers it was one player each. He explained that it was more risky because of bad weather conditions, where there was too much wind and heat.
He said playing outdoors with a limited number of players is not safe. “We are unable to increase the number of players because the transfer window is closed. We will just fight with the material that we have,” he said. Mafolofolo coach, Boitumelo Botsang said there is no pressure on his players as the final is a game like any other. “This is the first final for the Matlhare sisters, Queen and Roda, with the current performance they show during training, I believe they are the ones to win the game for us.
We played against Police in the final last year, we came second, now we know how to handle them,” Botsang said. BDF coach, Selebatso Mabutho said they started preparing for the game on Tuesday and believe that the players will be ready to face Kutlwano. “We expect a strong team but we are going to take them head-on. We watched them when they played against Police and UB,” Mabutho said. Botswana Volleyball Federation (BVF) vice president-technical, Percy Roberts said Saturday is going to be a thriller.
“SSKB courts are going to be lit with fireworks starting with the first game up to the last one. You cannot afford to come only to the finals. There will be four games starting with the men’s third-place playoffs from 8:30am between Spiking Stars and UB. The women’s match between Kutlwano and Spiking Stars will be next at 10:30am,” he said. Roberts said the women’s final will follow at 1pm and the men’s final will be played at 3pm. He said everything is in place for the games and the tournament sponsor, Mascom will provide services to its customers on the day.
Fixtures: Venue; SSKB Courts Men Third place play-off: Spiking Stars vs UB 8:30pm Final: Kutlwano vs BDF 3pm
Women Final: Police vs Mafolofolo 1pm Play off: Kutlwano vs Spiking Stars 10:30am