Malawi Queens’ dream to end a 13-year title drought in the Africa Netball Cup went up in smoke yesterday after losing semi-final battle 33-46 to Uganda’s She Cranes at Griffin Saenda Sports Complex in Lilongwe.
They have now slipped to a third-place clash against Zimbabwe at 2pm this afternoon while Uganda will fight for ultimate glory against South Africa’s Spar Proteas at 6pm.
The men’s final will see South Africa taking on Zimbabwe at 4pm whereas Kenya and Eswatini will face-off in battle for bronze. Malawi Kings were trailing 23-13 to Botswana in the second quarter in fifth/sixth place playoff by press time.
Yesterday, Malawi Queens struggled from the first whistle. Despite support from the home fans, they trailed Uganda 7-12 in the first quarter before the gap widened to nine baskets by half-time break with the score line showing 15-24.
The gap soared to 13 baskets by the end of the third stanza as the She Cranes led 22-35. In the last quarter, it became predictable the Ugandans could carry the day as they maintained the 13-basket advantage up to the final whistle.
Queens coach Peace Chawinga-Kaluwa admitted that misplaced passes, shooting inaccuracies and turnovers cost them the game.
“It was rare for Uganda to lose possession and we gave them the advantage when we frequently lost the balls in the first quarter. We were already four baskets down at the start just because we lost two balls. Apart from that, we struggled to score,” she said.
However, the coach said the team is good and the future is bright and that lessons have been learned.
This is the Queens’ big defeat to Uganda since their last meeting in February this year when they lost 45-50 during the Vitality Netball Nations Cup in England.
The Queens have been struggling against Uganda for the last decade as they have only won thrice in 12 meetings.
The tournament is being played without defending champions as Zambia pool out in the eleventh hour due to financial problems.
