My Spar netball action commences this weekend
BDF Cats netball team is expected to keep the ball rolling with its impressive run when the second round of the 2016 My Spar My Botswana Netball League continues this weekend.
A relentless run by the Cats saw them finishing the first round of the league as log leaders with twelve points.Since day one of the league, BDF Cats set their foot down and made their intentions to win the Southern Zone championships loud and clear. BDF ensured they collected maximum points from all the six games they have played and showed no mercy to their league rivals who fought tooth and nail to keep up with the mighty Cats.
BDF Cats coach Neo Ntwaagae said she was impressed with his team’s performance so far. “I am happy with the girls’ performance, they played well however they have not yet reached the level of play I want, I hope by the time we reach the finals their standard of play will have improved,” she said. Ntwaagae said being log leaders did not come as a surprise for the team because they are proficient players and one of the strong netball teams locally. She said that the girls managed to reach the estimated goal target, however the absence of one of their shooters saw them finishing the round with 303 goals. She added that the competition gave her time to test the strength of her under 20 players who as she confidently expressed are on the verge of unleashing their stirring talent in the near future.
Ntwaagae applauded the league committee for their devotion to run a smooth league. “There is much improvement, the league committee is up on its toes this time around, hopefully this will grow in the coming years,” she said.Meanwhile, Jwaneng Netball Club coach Aubrey Tsibele, whose team suffered severe drubbings recently and also sitting at the bottom of the log said they were not demotivated. “We might have not won any game in the first round but it should be noted that my team comes from development and competing against masters of the game,” he said.
Nevertheless, Tsibele said some of his players lost concentration in the middle of the games because it was a whole new experience for them to compete in an elite league. He asserted that he believes in nurturing talent from grass roots level. “I deliberately dropped all my experienced players and gave them a break. I wanted to see what will come out of these youngsters and they have surely proved to be competitive,” he said.
Meanwhile, the netball Southern Zone spokesperson Mmabatho Pilane said the first round of games went according to plan. She said that it was crystal clear that some of the teams came hungry for a win, while others only stepped up to the game at the eleventh hour. She said that the only disappointment had only been that the Flying Hawks team was unable to honour some of their games. Pilane said the second round would begin on Saturday while the finals are scheduled for mid- November.