Maqonda Ndlovu
Namibia’s Debmarine Desert Jewels suffered a 52-42 defeat to Zambia in their second African Netball Cup match at the University of Botswana in Gaborone yesterday.
This follows their 45-36 victory over Zimbabwe on Tuesday.
Debmarine Desert Jewels head coach Julene Meyer said her team did not play the way they wanted to play.
“You always have these games in tournaments where things don’t always go the way you want them to. I am not happy with the performance; I am sure the players are not happy with the performance. Tomorrow will be a new day, and we will have to bounce back and ensure that we have all our cylinders firing tomorrow,” she said.
Meyer congratulated Zambia, saying they were the best team on the day.
She said she was impressed by the way her players performed in the last quarter, as it was a 10-all draw.
“We left it too late. We should have played like that from the start, rather than waiting for the last quarter. During our warm-up, we must ensure that we are switched on. We have to make sure we start the match firing on all cylinders,” Meyer said.
The Namibian coach said Kenya, who are Debmarine Desert Jewels’ next opponent, are a physical team whom they (Namibia) will not underestimate.
“We expect another tough encounter from them. They will be ready for anything that comes their way. We have made it difficult for ourselves going forward; from here on, we won’t be playing with any mercy. We will be having all our guns blazing,” she said.
The Africa Cup started without three top-ranked countries on the continent, namely South Africa, Uganda, and Malawi.
The absence of the three powerhouses means Zimbabwe, who lost to Namibia on the opening day of the tournament, is the top-ranked side (13) at the tournament, followed by Zambia (15) and Namibia is the third top-ranked side (22) at the tournament. Botswana, the hosts, are ranked 23rd.
South Africa was expected to defend the title it won in Windhoek in 2022.
Namibia next plays Kenya today, before playing Botswana tomorrow. They will then face Eswatini on Sunday.