Following the successful ending of the netball league, Netball analyst Seipei Gaelesiwe who is also the Botswana Netball Association (BONA) vice president for Projects and Events has given the netball league the nod.
In an interview with Sunday Standard, she said she was impressed with how the games proceeded until the end of the league. “The league was very competitive, teams came prepared hence Police snatching the league from BDF Cats. It was in such a way that it was hard to tell which team would proceed to the finals,” she said.
Gaelesiwe further said everyone was hands on deck as teams, umpires and technical officers showed commitment towards the games. “Games started on time, everyone else was at their area of duty be it officials or players,” she said. She further highlighted that the netball veterans such as Tebogo Radipotsane, Portia Rasekumba and others gave the young blood a run for the money.
“The young ones had to sweat it out as the older ones gave the good exposure and used their experience to play. This helped them to up their game so they could try aligning their play to that of the ones familiar with the play,” she said.
Despite using some players as umpires she said “going forward it will be a thing of the past,” adding that they will try hard to separate umpires from players. She also expressed gratitude to My Spar My Botswana for the opportunity they gave the girls to showcase their talent and explore it to their fullest.
Moreover, Gaelesiwe said she was impressed with the new and upcoming talent especially from Jwaneng team. “A Jwaneng player who played defence caught my eye, if taken and nurtured she can be a player to watch out for, and benefit the country in general,” she added.
Gaelesiwe concluded saying there is a great pool of talent in Botswana hence the need to nurture it like a garden so it grows.
“We seriously need to tap on talent available in our country such as at BISA, BOTESSA and constituency tournaments. Although we have been doing that, we need to dig in more as it is not enough,” she added.
