Panthers Win Historic Floodlit Opener
Spira Tlhankane | Monday November 16, 2015 11:42
The first ever softball night game saw Panthers edging BMC Rivals 1-0 in a tightly contested match at the National Diamond.
The game was also combined with the launch of the league sponsorship together with the unveiling of the lights, courtesy of Botswana Fiber Network (BoFiNeT). The wholesale provider increased their sponsorship from P1 million to P1.5 million and both winners from the women and men sides will pocket P100,000 each.
The game between Panthers started on a low note and playing under the floodlights for the first time, players from both team failed to register a score in the first two innings.
Players couldn’t hit the ball, and it was mainly because they were facing one of the floodlights. After three innings, Panthers took the lead after what was possibly the best performance of the night.
The score remained the same and by the fifth inning, both teams were back to square one as they couldn’t produce any promising move. The game was wrapped up after two hours and Panthers managed to register a win in a difficult match for both opponents.
Panthers coach, Tony Moyo said the game played under the floodlights was perfectly fine because his boys did a good job.
“My team played well and they were focused and determined through out,” he said. Moyo said they would now focus on the next game and try to get points as early as possible.
BMC Rivals coach, Nkomo Manto said the team played well but the problem was the lights. “We were facing the floodlights and we complained about the lights because they were distracting our players,” he said.
Manto said Panthers is a team they always fight to beat. “It is our fourth game and after three wins we lost. We didn’t expect to lose, we wanted to keep the winning streak,” he said.
He said they would now concentrate on their attack because defensively they were better.