adminMtokozisi Dube in Gaborone
The Zimbabwe girls’ basketball team booked a quarter-final berth yesterday after narrowly beating hosts Botswana 12-11 in a tightly contested Africa Youth Games tie. Zimbabwe had earlier turned on a spirited performance when they beat Mauritius 16-6. They had gotten off to a sloppy start on Saturday after a narrow 8-6 loss at the hands of Angola.
But the Eric Banda-coached team came back strongly against Mauritius yesterday afternoon.
Mary Chawayipira was outstanding for Zimbabwe, scoring six baskets in that game.
But Banda was not entirely happy with the team’s performance, saying he felt they were not aggressive.
“The girls are weak, they are relaxed, I do not know what it is. Perhaps it is the new version of the game that is causing them not to be aggressive,” he told Chronicle Sport.
Today, Zimbabwe get to gauge their strength against favourites Egypt before the quarter-final.
Banda is wary of the North Africans, who are yet to lose a game in this competition.
Meanwhile, the netball team held East Africans Kenya to a 59-59 draw in their third game.
After losing twice to Botswana and Uganda, their chances of a podium position are slim.
Of the six participating teams, Zimbabwe and Swaziland are the only teams yet to win a game.
In rowing, Hillary Mandibaya settled for a fifth place finish while Dexter Freeman was fifth.
Online Reporter