Short of our goal, yet victorious – coach on Proteas’ win
Proteas coach Jenny van Dyk says the team didn’t hit their scoring target, but their win secures them the Africa Netball Cup once again.
Despite the convincing scoreline, Proteas head coach Jenny van Dyk said the national team had to work hard against Uganda in the final yesterday to retain their Africa Netball Cup title in Lilongwe, Malawi.
The Citizen reports that after taking the lead from the start, the SA team earned a 56-34 win to secure a record fifth continental crown.
“Uganda will make you work all day on that netball court, so we knew that we needed to have a very solid game plan and come in very strong,” Van Dyk said.
“From the onset, we understood that this game would be won in the circle and we needed to figure out how we were going to do that.
“I must thank Uganda for a great game of netball and for such a great final. Well done to them as well for playing the way they did.”
Target missed but champions nonetheless
Though the Proteas had hoped to put more points on the board, Van Dyk was delighted with the result.
“As a team, we had set our own target and that was to score 60. We fell short today, but what matters is that we are champions.”
South Africa went unbeaten in a dominant campaign, recording pool-stage victories over Tanzania (104–25), Malawi (58–38) and Botswana (67–31), and defeating Zimbabwe 84-32 in the semifinals.
SA men’s team also retains title
Meanwhile, the SA men’s side also retained their African title after beating Zimbabwe 40-29 in the final.
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