South Africa closing in on netball title

Wesley Bo on

Though they were made to work hard by fellow title contenders Uganda, the Proteas held on to win a thrilling contest 67-40 yesterday, ensuring they will head into the play-offs as the firm favourites at the Africa Netball Cup in Cape Town.

Remaining unbeaten after four matches in the round robin stage, South Africa were already assured of a spot in the knockout round.

With the world No 5 Proteas facing a Ugandan side ranked just one place below them, the match had been billed as the most-anticipated encounter of the opening round.

After an explosive start from both teams, the Proteas held a narrow 12-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, and they extended the gap in the second period, taking a five-point advantage (26-11) into the half-time break.

The She-Cranes came out firing in the third stanza, however, and they narrowed the scoreline, with South Africa holding a 37-36 lead heading into the final quarter.

With newly appointed head coach Dorette Badenhorst adjusting their strategy and taking a more clinical approach in the last 15 minutes, the hosts managed to hold on for a hard-fought victory.

Earlier last week, in the roundrobin stage of the continental tournament, the Proteas swept aside an unfancied Lesotho side with a crushing 116-10 win.

They also edged perennial rivals Malawi with a 56-51 triumph and secured a convincing 69-39 victory over Zimbabwe.

With Tanzania having pulled out on the eve of the competition, the Africa Cup organisers had adjusted the fixtures list at the last minute, seemingly combining the two initial pools.

They had not yet released the schedule for the last two days, which were originally set aside for play-offs, but the SA team remain firm favourites to lift the title after beating their strongest opposition in the opening round.