Super Stars Tourney Kicks Off In Style
Thato Kala | Monday August 4, 2014 14:54
The game between North and South was an exceptional encounter with North narrowly edging their rivals 29-28 in a close encounter.
North showed their intentions to win it with a dominating display in the opening quarter. South have themselves to blame after making several unnecessary slip-ups that allowed their opponents to get a grip on the game. North continued to dominate in the second quarter with player-of-the-match Elsah Rankhudu dictating the pace in the middle. The North Centre, Rankhudu, had a memorable afternoon on the first day of the five-week Super Stars’ tournament.
South later made a change and introduced GA Otsile Mpala, who helped improve their game. UB Crystals’ skipper Dipolelo ‘Dosto’ Sakaiwa was then brought on for South as their Centre and made a worthwhile contribution. She helped South narrow the gap, but their opponents remained a stride ahead to eventually win the game.
In a post-match interview, Rankhudu was happy with her play and believes they will develop as the tournament continues.
“We played in bits and pieces today, but overall I am happy with the result. I think I did well too and I will continue to do my best in this tournament,” she told Monitor Sport. Spar North went on to dismiss Spar Schools in their second fixture when they beat them 55-47.
Former Jungle Queens star Gosego Tsele was in outstanding form when Team BONA added to Spar Schools’ woes by beating them 68-12. She was played at Centre and controlled the game for them.
In other games, Team BONA proved too strong for Spar South as they beat them 69-20 in an exciting encounter.
MaLittle beat Future Stars 34-18 with GA Margaret Banda putting up a stellar performance and being named player of the game. Spar Schools then got the better of Future Stars when they narrowly edged them 45-43. Despite the loss, Future Stars’ GS Doreen Moatshe was named the most outstanding player in that game.
Team BONA then completed a memorable weekend when they beat MaLittle 69-17 as veteran defender Ntebogang Motlakaloso put up a fine performance.
The tournament is bankrolled by Spar to the tune of P300, 000 and will run for the next five weeks.
For the first time, BONA recognised outstanding individual players in each of the matches. The traditional netball league rewards players at the end of the season, but BONA marketing and publicity officer, Ntebo Maplanka said this was to motivate the players.
The tournament is expected to aide national team selectors in identifying the best possible team to qualify for next year’s Sydney World Cup. The 100 selected players are aware that senior national team places are up for grabs.