Gems off to promising start Ropafadzo Mutsauki

Ellina Mhlanga, Harare Bureau

ZIMBABWE’S Gems got their campaign at the Confederation of Southern Africa Netball Associations (Cosana) Tri-Nations Cup off to a promising note when they beat Namibia 48-36 at Kuhes Sports Complex in Blantyre, Malawi, yesterday.

Confederation of Southern Africa Netball Associations (Cosana)

The Gems, now sponsored by Spar Zimbabwe, took the lead from the onset, ending the first quarter 14-9 in their favour.

They stretched their lead to eight goals in the second quarter to go into the half-time break leading 24-16.

Zimbabwe maintained the upper-hand and were 13 goals ahead in the third quarter, which ended 37-24.

And they sealed victory in the last quarter to claim their first victory at the tournament, also featuring hosts Malawi.

Being their first encounter at the tournament, the victory should spur the team ahead of what is likely to be a tough tie against Malawi this evening.

Gems coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki said the victory is crucial as it motivates the players ahead of the other upcoming matches.

“I think a win is very important to everyone.

Getting a win in the first game of the tournament, (I think) it’s a motivation on its own.

We respect this win and I am happy because when going into a tournament the aim is to win the first game.

I think the team played well overall.

With the preparation we had, I think they played well,” said Mutsauki.

“But I am expecting some improvements from the team because we failed to utilise some of the turnovers we got.

We need to work on that, it’s important to utilise those turnovers, they are key if we are going to win games.”

ZIMBABWE’S Gems

In their last meeting at the Africa Cup last year in Windhoek, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Namibia had a tightly-contested encounter that ended with Zimbabwe winning 50-49.

Zimbabwe have two games today; they play Namibia again this morning and then Malawi in the evening.

Malawi, ranked seventh in the world, are the highest ranked side among the three teams at the tri-nations and are the favourites.

Zimbabwe are ranked 13th and Namibia 22nd.

However, Zimbabwe are hoping for an upset this time around.

“Malawi is a good team; we should not put ourselves under pressure.

“Today (yesterday) we were under pressure, each player wanted to prove themselves.

Now against Malawi, we should focus more on winning as a team, even if we win one or two games against them, I think it’s very important to us as Team Zimbabwe.

“We need to protect our centre pass and avoid losing the ball.

It’s also important to take the lead because fighting to come from behind is difficult.

So, our first game tomorrow (today) is against Namibia again, every game is a new game, so you continue assessing and adjusting.

We will continue adjusting until our game against Malawi.

And I believe today’s win will help us and we continue improving,” said Mutsauki.

The Zimbabwe senior national side is using the tournament as part of preparations for the Netball World Cup qualifiers to be held in South Africa in August.

Netball World Cup

Zimbabwe are hoping to get one of the remaining two tickets to next year’s Netball World Cup that will be staged in South Africa.

Mutsauki yesterday made it clear that the door is still open for deserving players and said taking part at the Cosana competition presents players with the platform to prove themselves.

“It’s also a challenge for all the players to give their best to make the first team.

It helps create competition among the players and we can get the best out of them.

Everyone wants to prove themselves because they are not just looking at this assignment alone, but also the other upcoming assignment because we have not yet closed the door for other players.

“We continue building the team.

We still have time, so we will keep assessing until we get a strong team for the qualifiers.

I want to thank our (Zimbabwean) Government for the support they gave us.

If we had not received that support, we would not be here playing these games.

It motivates us as coaches and players to know that we have the Government’s support,” said Mutsauki.

It was also a good day in the office yesterday for the Zimbabwe Under-19 side, which overpowered Namibia 42-23.

They are taking this tournament as part of their build-up for the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region Five Under-20 Youth Games scheduled for December in Malawi.

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