Erasmus Shalihaxwe
Namibia secured third place at the Confederation of Southern Africa Netball Association (COSANA) tournament held in Windhoek over the past week.
Despite having several local teams in the competition and the home advantage, only the Namibia Correctional Service (NCS) advanced past the group stages.
NCS claimed third place on Monday after beating Botswana Defence Force 41-27.
NCS coach Salomon Tuaire said the tournament served as a learning experience for his team and will help them prepare for future matches.
“I think in Namibia we have a relaxed approach to playing netball as opposed to other African countries. They are very physical, and it is something we need to work on. So from now on, we will give much attention to our physicality as well,” he said.
Tuaire added that while his team had hoped to win the tournament, they still gained valuable insights.
“We used this as a preparation for the upcoming league games. We now know where to improve and where our strengths are and use it to our advantage in the league games,” he said.
COSANA president Letitia Chipandu, who observed the tournament from the start, said she was pleased with how teams performed.
“We are thrilled with the quality of play that we have been watching. There has been growth in COSANA with regard to the development of netball. We are also happy that we had umpires from different countries who have been using this tournament to improve their umpiring skills and prepare for the Region 5 Games that will be taking place in July here in Namibia,” she said.
Royal Flames Netball Club from Eswatini won the tournament, narrowly defeating Zimbabwe Defence Force 47-46 in the final on Monday.
