2017-09-11
WINDHOEK – The Desert Jewels, Namibia’s senior national netball team finished third in the Debmarine Namibia Pent Series which ended in Windhoek on Sunday.
Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Swaziland battled it out for rank points during the five-day tournament.
Zimbabwe were crowned champions of the series after winning all four of their games, while Zambia took second position after losing to Zimbabwe in their last game of the competition.
Namibia, Swaziland and Botswana all won a game each at the competition, and goal difference played a major part in deciding the position the teams finished, after the games which were played on a round-robin basis.
Botswana took fourth position, while Swaziland finished bottom of the group.
In their last match of the series, Namibia lost 40-38 to Botswana, who thus registered their first win of the championship.
On Sunday in their last game, Namibia trailed 11-8 to Botswana at the end of the first quarter, while Botswana extended their lead to 21-17 at the end of the second quarter.
In the third quarter, Namibia reduced the score margin to two points, to trail their opponents by 31-29 at the end of the third quarter.
Despite the hosts giving it their all in a nail-biting last quarter, Botswana held onto their two-point lead to win their first game in the competition.
In the game between Zimbabwe and Zambia, the two neighbours brought their A-game, but Zimbabwe was too strong and dominated Zambia to make it four wins in a row with a 50-45 victory.
Speaking to the media after the games, Namibian coach Manuel Tjivera said the experience gained at the competition will help the Namibian team in future competitions.
“We feel really great to have competed against all these countries, and with more funding, our team will also start competing at the same level as those ranked higher than us in Africa and the world,” he noted.
Tjivera gave credit to Netball Namibia and Debmarine Namibia for presenting this opportunity to the team.
Namibia is 37th out of the 38 countries ranked by the International Netball Federation. – Nampa.
