BDF Hosts Successful Find the Ball tournament
BDF Cats netball club successfully hosted the 7th edition of the Find The Ball memorial netball tournament at the University of Botswana Indoor Sports Arena and outdoor courts over the long weekend.
The well attended event featured clubs from the host country Botswana, Lesotho, eSwatini and Zimbabwe. Botswana sides included defending champions BDF Cats, Maun Heroes, Police, UB Crystals among others.
Nine women teams, eight men teams and 12 teams from the U21 bracket faced off in titanic battles for supremacy and bragging rights.
In one of the most thrilling spectacles of the tournament visiting eSwatini side, Green Lightning netball club narrowly edged Police netball club 38-37 to be crowned overall winners in the men’s division.
The exciting fixture, which was decided by a single goal produced high octane action from the opening pass to the final whistle.
The visitors were never nagged by an attacking Police side but fought with the back behind the wall especially in the closing stages to secure a narrow one goal victory.
Lightning took to the court with confidence, combining quick attacking play, disciplined defending and accurate shooting to keep pace with Police across all four quarters.
Neither side managed to establish a decisive advantage as the lead changed hands several times. Every interception, turnover and successful shot intensified the contest with both teams displaying composure under pressure.
In the development category, Maun Heroes U21 side edged out BDF Cats 42-27.
The Nhabe side displayed grit and strong determination to overcome a resilient BDF Cats team to claim all the points and the floating trophy.
In the women’s final match another visiting side ZDF Queens of Zimbabwe edged out Jwaneng netball team 42-39 in a competitive match that could have gone either way. ZDF Queens narrowly booked a final match slot after beating Police netball club 46-41 in a nail-biting semifinal match.
Another interesting side was the Green Lightning women’s side who exited the competition after falling to Jwaneng club. Green Lightning’s women came within a goal of upsetting the defending champions but exited the Find the Ball Netball Tournament in heartbreaking fashion.
The Lightning ladies bowed out of the competition after a dramatic 51-50 defeat to the defending champions Jwaneng Netball Club.
The eSwatini side delivered one of their finest displays of the competition, matching the title holders throughout a fiercely-contested encounter that was only decided in the closing moments.
The tournament, which is an annual event, is held in memory of the late Anthony ‘Find The Ball’ Masogo, a former BDF Cats’ netball coach.
The theme of the tournament was Honouring Legacy: Inspiring Excellence. BOPA