BATTLE OF THE FORCES
BDF VI and Police VI clash in the Volley ball Mini-league final
BDF VI men will be seeking to upset the odds when they take on the in-form and rampant Police VI side when the two teams collide in the final of the Volleyball mini-league tournament in Lobatse over the weekend.
Police VI have shown their dominance by winning all their group stage games without losing a single match.
Kalavango were expected to provide a much tougher challenge but were also dismissed by 3-0 scoreline.
The Otse based outfit were however strongly tested in the semi-finals with Kutlwano putting up a brave fight, their best could only hand Police VI their first taste of a set loss, as Police emerged 3-1 winners to advance to the final.
BDF VI, on the other hand, have not had a smooth ride to the final, winning all their four matches 3-1.
The Army side went on to mirror their group stage result to dispatch Spiking Stars and advance to the semi-finals.
Magstimela proved to be a hard-nut to crack as BDF battled to secure a 3-2 win to land a slot in the final.
BDF VI has been one of the dominant forces in local tournament and will have the experience and the know-how to once more claim another local trophy.
Under the tutelage of Selebatso Mabutho, BDF VI, believes they will give Police VI a run for their money.
He contends that his players are less experienced than their Police VI counterparts.
He asserted that when the going gets tough, experience and their levels of fitness will be a crucial factor in the final.
“We started well, considering the fact that we have stayed for a long time without competing. Police are a difficult side, vastly experienced. Both their male and female teams form great part of our national team, but we’ve studied them, and like any other sides, they have their strengths and weaknesses. We will try our level best to make it as difficult as possible for them, it will not be a walk over,” Mabutho warned.
“It will mean a lot for us to win this competition, it is a start for us and we want to return to competitive play on a high note. All the teams showed quality performances and for us to end up as winners will be a great achievement,” he added.
He said all teams were well prepared and highlighted that their journey to the finals was not an easy one. Mabutho shared that he hopes there will be another tournament or competition in the near future to enable the teams to continue growing and improving the players’ skills set.
For his part, Police VI Assistant Coach, Mompati Mere pointed out that, following almost a two year hiatus of competitive action, most local sides lost their players.
He stated that, fortunately for their team, most players are employees of the Police service hence they were able to retain them.
“Everyone knows it took a long time for sports to return, teams lost their players and luckily for us, we have a young team of which most of them are employees in the Police Service. We returned early to training and I think we capitalized on the lack of fitness by some of the teams in the group stages. Kutlwano gave us a tough time in the semi-finals but we easily beat them in the group stages, it shows they had improved,” Mere shared.
Quizzed about the challenge that awaits them in the final, Mere said that BDF VI are a difficult side, adding that the experience of their veteran coach, Seeletso Mabutho means they will prepare well and give everything they can to stop Police VI.
“BDF is a big team and a very tough opponent; they have a very highly experienced coach. BDF VI versus Police VI encounters are always tough, it’s war when these two meet. They struggled to make it to the final but that has got nothing to do with the game that we are going to play. We have started our preparations, we want to win every competition on offer this year and the weekend will be the start,” Mere explained.
In the ladies sides, Kalavango were eliminated by Kutlwano in the semi-finals by three (3) set to nil, while Police VI like their male counterparts, proved too strong to brush-aside BDF VI to set up a final against Kutlwano.