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JUMBO Queens won the Zimbabwe Netball Association (Zina) mid-season tournament after beating Ntuthu Sparrows 14-12 in the final at Raylton Recreation Club on Saturday.The army side walked away with a floating shield after getting the better of the other clubs in the 20-team competition.
Jumbo Queens captain Pretty Musasanuri was in a buoyant mood after the win. They became the first team to beat Ntuthu Sparrows in a competitive match this year.
“I’m happy we won but it was a tough match, Ntuthu Sparrows were our target from the start, we wanted to show them what we are capable of,” said Musasanuri.
She believes that the good display over the weekend will be key to their second half campaign as they want to challenge for the championship.
“We showed them what we can do, so we want to build from this tournament and challenge for the championship,” she said.
Precious Mudenge, the Ntuthu Sparrows coach blamed fatigue for her team’s loss but said they are positive that it won’t affect their fine run in the Bulawayo Netball League.
“The girls were tired after playing many games heading to the final and Jumbo Queens were a more determined side so they made it difficult for us.
“The league is different it won’t affect us, we are positive we will continue doing well,” said Mudenge.
The mid-season tournament saw a high turnout with 20 teams taking part. There were 13 local league teams and seven guest teams.
National University of Science and Technology, Nketa, Zesa, Gwabalanda, Turk Mine, Diamond and Khami Prison were the visiting teams.
Last year’s winners Free Stars failed to make it to the second round of the event.
Zina secretary-general Sekani Dube praised the high turnout by teams, as she believes that netball is still a dormant sport without good support.
“The turn out was good, it shows that people still have passion for netball, but lack of corporate support has affected its development,” said Dube.
The mid-season tournament was celebrated under the theme “Promoting the Girl Child – taking her off the streets onto the court.
“The tournament is to promote and support the girl child, we had Sobukazi High School those are students who need our support and we also had inmates from correctional services who also need our support, this is what netball does to the community,” said Dube.
Results
Pool A : Ntabazinduna Prison 10, Phakamani 3; Ntutu Sparrows 12, Ntabazinduna Prison 2; Gwabalanda 2, Ntabazinduna prison 7; Nust 5, Ntabazinduna Prison 3; Phakamani 3, Lobengula Queens 16; Phakamani 2 Nust 16; Phakamani 4, Gwabalanda 7; Khami 6, Gwabalanda 6; Khami 3, Ntutu Sparrows 11; Khami 2 Mighty Queens 14, Khami 8; Gwabalanda 4, Lobengula Queens 9; Lobengula Queens 15, Nketa 3; Lobengula Queens 5, Nust 8; Nketa 0, Ntutu Sparrows 16; Ntutu Sparrows 11, Mighty Queens 8, Mighty Queens 9, Nust 5; Mighty Queens 13, Nketa 1
Pool B: ZRP Ntabazinduna 9, Sobukazi 4; Free Stars 7, ZRP Ntabazinduna7; ZRP Ntabazinduna 8, Turk Mine 4; ZRP Ntabazinduna 4 , Unit Fairbridge 7; Sobukazi7, Free Stars 10; Sobukazi 12, Turk Mine3 ; Sobukazi 6, Zimpost 10; Jumbo Queens 12, Zimpost 6; Jumbo Queens 10, Zesa 9; Jumbo Queens18, Diamond 5; Zimpost 6, Diamond 3; Zimpost 7, Zesa 16; Turk Mine 7, Diamond 11; Diamond 3, Sobukazi Fairbridge 10; Diamond 4, Free Stars 15; freestars 8,Zesa10, Zesa 3 ,Fairbridge 12
Semi-finals: Ntutu Sparrows 9, Zesa 6; Lobengula Queens 7 Jumbo Queens 14
Final: Ntutu Sparrows 12, Jumbo Queens 14
Online Reporter