Army guns down Big House

BDF Volleyball man. PIC BVF PAGE
BDF Volleyball man. PIC BVF PAGE

BDF VI men are the champions of the Botswana Volleyball Federation (BVF) Mascom Tournament after beating Kutlwano 3-1 in the final played on Saturday at the SSKB courts.

The game, played in searing temperatures of around 36 degrees Celsius, was far from easy due to the high level of competition between the two sides. The final also saw the biggest turn out of spectators in recent times. BDF had a sluggish start giving Kutlwano an upper hand with some great defence and attack. Abel Samunzala was on the attack for BDF a few minutes from the start, but Tiroyaone Otimile dealt with the threat. Kutlwano showed early intent of running away with the first set. The two sides were level at 4-4 in the opening exchanges but it did not take long for Kutlwano to go into a lead. The chemistry between setter, Tyiyapo Madeluka and opposite hitter, Otimile was crucial to Kutlwano's charge in the first set. Setlhake Setlhake punished Kutlwano coming from the outside, followed by a strong right hand spike by Phemelo Lekoko as the set ended 25-20 in favour of The Big House.

Otimile opened the second set by putting Kutlwano in the lead but BDF bounced back to settle matters at 10-10 as the set progressed. BDF stepped up with a clear goal to win the set with Lekoko proving dangerous with his spiking prowess. The side was ahead 16-14 as the game progressed. Kutlwano was forced to introduce the fresh legs of youngster, Pactor Moreometsi after Otimile picked an injury. The game went for a technical time out with BDF leading 20-17. Lebae Kula struck a point on the line to bring down the margin for Kutlwano. But Lekoko retaliated to give BDF a 25-20 set win. The third set saw BDF get off to a rather slow start giving Kutlwano an 11-6 head start. The army side brought in experienced setter, Kesaobaka Lenkopanye while Otimile came in after the injury scare during the second set. The presence of Lenkopanye changed the complexion of the game as BDF went on to win the set 25-22. BDF started set four with renewed energy shocking Kutlwano who were struggling with clear signs of fatigue. An error riddled attack from The Big House challenged some contentious decisions as some of their players approached the referee positioned on the elevated platform. At this point BDF was enjoying a comfortable 10-3 lead. There was no coming back for Kutlwano as the margin extended to 14-6 leading to an easy victory for BDF who took the set 25-17 to wrap up the match 3-1.

Editor's Comment
Closure as pain lingers

March 28 will go down as a day that Batswana will never forget because of the accident that occurred near Mmamatlakala in Limpopo, South Africa. The tragedy affected not only the grieving families but the nation at large. Batswana throughout the process stood behind the grieving families and the governments of Botswana and South Africa need much more than a pat on the back.Last Saturday was a day when family members said their last goodbyes to...

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