JKT Mbweni hit Kenyan outfit
JKT Mbweni’s Lulu Joseph (right) vies for the ball with Cynthia Wanyama of MOICT during their East Africa Netball Club Championship match at the National Stadium yesterday. JKT Mbweni won 42-37. Photo | Michael Matemanga
What you need to know:
- It was the second consecutive victory for the army girls as they beat Uganda’s Police 42-37 in their first match at the same venue on Sunday
Dar es Salaam. JKT Mbweni maintained their winning run in the East Africa Netball Club Championship with a 42-37 win against Kenya’s Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology (Moicit) at the National Stadium yesterday.
It was the second consecutive victory for the army girls as they beat Uganda’s Police 42-37 in their first match at the same venue on Sunday.
Mbweni did not defeat the Kenyans easily in the closely-contested encounter. They survived a scare before giving Tanzanians something to smile about.
It was the Kenyans who made a bright start. And they seemed destined for a win when they took a 21-19 lead at the breather.
As expected, the hosts, enjoying a friendly support from the fans, came out a more aggressive side in the final half, commanding the proceedings with swift but accurate passes.
They had goal attacker (GA) Doritha Mbunda and goal shooter (GS) Mwanaidi Hassan to thank as the duo’s tremendous job steered the hosts to the hard-earned victory.
Doritha and Mwanaidi utilised all chances they got in the dying minutes to bring tears to the Kenya team camp and go top of the standing.
Defending champions Uganda’s National Insurance Corporation (NIC) also made a flying start as they beat hosts Magereza 55-21 in the women’s series.
In the men’s category, Kenya’s Prisons humiliated Mangaya of Tanzania 73-3 in a one-sided encounter. The Kenyans were leading 50-3 at the half time.
Mafunzo of Zanzibar also had a disappointing day as they lost 37-34 to Uganda Police in a match that will go down as one of the fiercely-contested encounters in this year’s tournament.
Uganda Police were leading 19-18 at half time. In yesterday’s other match, Tanzania Mainland’s Kazaroho went down 56-37 to Police of Zanzibar at the same venue. The winners led 28-19 at the breather.
Speaking after the matches, Tanzania Netball Association (Chaneta) vice chairperson, Zainab Mbiro said the tournament is one of the most competitive competitions the country has ever hosted.
Mbiro said matches in the women’s category are even more competitive because teams post slim victories and the range does not exceed 10 goals.
“You cannot predict who will be the winner at the end. The score is slim and all teams have put up good performances so far,” she said.
