Botswana finishes third in netball cup
Kabelo Boranabi | Thursday September 15, 2016 14:50
Botswana beat hosts Singapore 47-41 in third place play-off match played at the OCBC Arena last weekend.
The team, comprising mostly juniors who took part in the World Cup qualifiers, had seasoned campaigners such as Hildah Binang and Tumisang Bagidi.
Botswana had already beaten Singapore 42-38 in the group stages. The team went into the match looking to salvage victory over the hosts after missing out on the final due to losses to Papua New Guinea and Zambia.
The team’s coach, Sithulile Mlotshwa said the main objective was to give the junior players exposure and try to improve the International Netball Federation (INF) rankings.
The coach said after losing the first two games they had to play for a win against Singapore in the third match. “Our game plan was to attack more and have more goals in the first two quarters then defend and hold on to the ball.
It worked as it destroyed the fast paced Singapore team from intercepting our passes,” she told Mmegi Sport yesterday.
The team went on to win against Ireland and Canada to book a place in the play-off match.
Despite an impressive showing in Singapore, Mlotshwa said the senior technical team would be working with the junior team coaches to help prepare the team for next year’s spectacle.
Mlotshwa had selected three players from the Under-21 team, Boikanyo Selogetso (GA), Katlego Dipatelelo (GK) and Kgomotso Matibini (WD) who was named the Most Valued Player (MVP). Botswana would take part in the Diamond Challenge tournament to test strength against other African teams.
The tournament would be used to give more youngsters exposure. Meanwhile Zambia emerged the winners after beating Papua New Guinea 65-49 in the final, while Ireland defeated Canada to secure fifth spot in the six team tournament.