Zebaldt Ngaruka
Drimiopsis – The Otjiungukua football and netball teams won the first edition of the late Nanaki Kandjii commemoration tournament on Monday at Okomukaru Sports Ground in Aminuis.
The tournament was organised by the Omongua Netball and Football Association (Onefa).
Kandjii, a sports icon from the Aminuis constituency, is remembered for his role in developing sports and managing the All Stars team.
In the first netball semi-final, Four Stars from Omitivine crushed Kajalami 32-18, while in the second semi-final, Otjiungukua overcame Omberoo by 16 goals to 10.
Otjiungukua defeated Four Stars 24-21 in a tightly-contested final to be crowned champions.
They received a trophy, N$5 000 in cash prize money, and 12 gold medals, while Four Stars received N$2 500 plus 12 silver medals as runners-up. Omberoo and Kajalami each took home N$1 250 for being losing semi-finalists.
In the football category, the champion defeated Otjituve by two goals to nil in the first semi-final, with Gauteng winning 4-3 via a penalty shootout over Otjeue following a goalless stalemate in regulation time.
The final saw Otjiungukua claim the title by beating Gauteng 1-0 to claim the Nanaki Kandjii trophy.
The Otjiungukua football team pocketed N$11 000 plus 18 gold medals as winners of the tournament, whereas the runners-up, Gauteng, walked away with N$6 500 and 18 silver medals as runners-up.
Otjituve and Otjeue football teams received N$3 000 as losing semi-finalists.
Mbeumuna Tjipe, who is the manager of Otjiungukua, said he is happy with his teams’ achievements in the tournament.
“My teams performed well overall. We won double last year, and the players wanted to keep that momentum in both netball and football categories,” he noted.
The manager stated that they would spend some of the money to assist the water committee of the village.
“We will buy electricity for our village to pump water, as well as check other needs at the water point. The players will also have something in their pockets to take home for the festive season,” he added. – zngaruka@yahoo.com