Maqonda Ndlovu
Namibia’s senior national netball team, the Debmarine Desert Jewels, will face Zambia today (16h00) in the final of the 2023 Africa Netball Cup after finishing second in their group.
The Desert Jewels won four of their five matches, amassing eight points, the same as Zimbabwe and Zambia.
However, they finished second in the group because of a lesser goal difference, 39 to 36 for Zambia, while they are ahead of Zimbabwe by nine goals.
Having finished their group games on Sunday, Namibia had to nervously wait for the results of the match between Zimbabwe and Eswatini.
Zimbabwe had to beat Eswatini by 20 or more goals to knock Namibia out. But they only managed to win by 10 goals (58-48), paving the way for the Desert Jewels to reach their first-ever Africa Cup final.
Speaking from Botswana yesterday, Debmarine Desert Jewels head coach Julene Meyer said they were ready for whichever match (final or bronze medal) the team was going to play, and they were happy with their performance.
“When you prepare for a tournament, you always want a shot at the gold medal. We worked hard pre-tournament and in the tournament to put ourselves in a position to have a shot at gold. So, tomorrow (today), we are taking that shot at a gold medal against Zambia in the final,” she enthused.
She said Zambia is a team which plays with a lot of speed; they have a sharp attack, hence the need to neutralise that speed.
Meyer added that Namibia has to be very sharp when in possession.
“We had a look at the footage of the match we played against them earlier in the tournament, and the other teams they played to see where we could optimise our performance and do better. We look forward to the rematch against them with a new game plan to bring back the trophy to Namibia,” she said.
The gaffer added that it was Namibia’s first final in the Africa Cup, and the team was very proud and excited about the opportunity.
“We intend to play our hearts out, give it our best, and hopefully walk away with a good result. We are all very excited about the challenge that lies ahead, and look forward to it,” Meyer noted.
She said preparations for the final had gone well, with all 12 players cleared to play in the final.
Namibia will thus focus on their game plan of keeping the intensity high on attack and defence, while absorbing the pressure and keeping their composure.
“We have to be relentless on defence and clinical on attack, taking care of our ball and valuing possession. Winning a final is not meant to be easy, and we expect them to come out hard at us,” she continued.