They came, they saw And they conquered
MACCABIAH Gemma Caplan says she is proud of her history-makers after they beat Australia to win gold in the Junior Netball competition in Israel.
Team GB reached the final following convincing victories over Israel and South Africa in a double round robin competition that Australia finished with a 100 per cent record following a pair of wins over GB.
Australia went into the final as strong favourites, but the GB girls executed their game-plan t o perfection to win the competition.
There were scenes of wild celebration at the final buzzer as months of hard work had paid off following the 47-44 victory.
Caplan said: “Having lost to Australia in the round robin, we knew that it was possible to win the final as there were stages during the earlier matches in which we were ahead.”
The final game was tight. The Australians started strongly and took an early lead, but GB fought back to equalise and from then on the two teams were never more than three goals apart.
GB won the match in the final quarter and they went on to gain a convincing lead, despite the Australians throwing everything at them.
Caplan said: “I’m so proud of all the girls. They put in several hours a week of training prior to the Games, including at the Maccabi Netball Club. They trained almost every day while out in Israel, fought through injuries and put 100 per cent effort into all the matches.
“All their hard work and determi- nation paid off. They achieved what no other netball team in the Maccabiah has done. They beat the Australians to gold and they thoroughly deserved it.”