Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria have successfully defended their DSTV Schools Netball Challenge (DSNC) title in the Botho division.
They defeated 2022 champions C&N Sekondêre Meisieskool Oranje 33-21 in a highly contested final.
Affies are only the second team to have won the title more than once. Hlabi High School from Limpopo are the other team.
The team from Tshwane made a clean sweep in the competition winning all eight matches in the national finals to take the most coveted Under-19 title.
Captain Amia Roux couldn’t contain her joy after her team won.
“We are ecstatic. It is a feeling you cannot describe to anyone. It was a tough game and well done to Oranje, they played really well. It is always nice to play against them. I am really proud of the team, we are just so happy. It was important to win to give a tribute to every player that played in the Affies dress before us,” says Roux.
UBUNTU WINNERS
KwaZulu Natal’s Khombindlela High School are the new DSNC Ubuntu winners.
They had to fend off a determined Lambalati Secondary School to get to the top of the podium.
Khombindlela had a stellar run, winning six of the eight matches they played over the two-day competition.
Even after her injury in their first match of the day against Kgaphamadi Secondary School, goal shooter Nelisiwe Msweli continued being a heroine for the team.
Msweli who was heavily strapped made it look easy to usher Khombindlela to the competition's finals.
The KwaZulu Natal side beat Hluvuka High School 34-4 in the semis. She was visibly in pain throughout the final and had to be carried off the court after the final whistle.
She says grinning and bearing with the pain was worth the gold medal she has around her neck.
“I was in pain and I still am feeling pain right now. I had to forget about the pain and focus on my game. I needed to win this game because I hate losing. I couldn’t let myself down, I had to keep my head up. I am so excited to have won this final because we had promised our principal that we would win this and make our province proud,” says Msweli.
Lambalati had a slow start to the competition. The Mpumalanga side only managed to win one match in the group stages on the first day but soared on the last day to walk away in second place overall.
BRONZE-MEDAL WINNERS
Meanwhile, Hluvuka came from behind in the third quarter to take the bronze medal beating Gauteng’s Vosloorus Comprehensive Secondary School.
Hoërskool Menlopark was the third-placed team in the Botho stream following their victory over 2021 winners, Potchefstroom Gimnasium.
The DSCN, which is in its fourth season, aims to balance the scales by offering the same platform for schools in urban and rural areas to experience the sport at a parallel level.
The tournament is a partnership between Multichoice, South African Schools Netball, and the Department of Basic Education aimed to unearth and nurture future stars.
MultiChoice CSI manager Sandile Luthuli says the competition aims to help strengthen the grassroots level of netball.
“It was another exciting and successful season. I think we as Multichoice are tremendously excited with how the season turned out. It was another record season even though there was not that much of an increase in terms of numbers but to be able to get to influence and reach over 2800 schools is a good feat. Our main objective is to grow netball, grow women’s sport but at the same time as you grow and see netball becoming a professional sport it is vital that we strengthen the foundation. This is us as a corporate strengthening the foundation of netball through making sure that girls from all over the country are able to experience the sport on the same level,” says Luthuli.
Luthuli promises that the tournament will improve and there will be some editions to the new season.
“Yes, there is always room for improvement. We have got something exciting that is coming next year. It is something we hold dear as a company. This will improve the competition tremendously, it is something really good that will benefit all the girls that play here,” he says.