JKT Mbweni goal scorer (GS) Mwanaidi Hassan (right) attempts to score during their East Africa Netball Club Championship semifinal against Prisons of Uganda at the National Stadium yesterday. JKT Mbweni won 35-33.Photo | Michael Matemanga
What you need to know:
JKT Mbweni and title-holders NIC go head-to-head in the final of the regional championship at the National Stadium today
Dar es Salaam. Only Uganda’s National Insurance Corporation (NIC) stands between Mainland netball queens JKT Mbweni and the East Africa Club Championship title.
JKT Mbweni and title-holders NIC go head-to-head in the final of the regional championship at the National Stadium today.
The Tanzanian girls made it to the final after edging out Prisons of Uganda 35-33 in a thrilling semi-final held at the same venue yesterday morning.
In yesterday’s match, JKT Mbweni survived a scare before silencing the Ugandans in the clash that will go down as one of the most exciting encounters in the regional club championship.
After a tight battle in the opening exchanges, Prisons, led by Florence Amono and Stella Atai, led 16-14 at the breather. On resumption, JKT Mbweni came out a more aggressive side, displaying impressive netball skills to the delight of a partisan crowd at the venue. A few minutes into the second half, the hosts, inspired by Goal Shooter (GS) Mwanaidi Hassan and Goal Attacker (GA) Nelly Anyingisye, overcame the deficit to lead 21-17 before registering the hard-fought victory. In another match, defending champions NIC thumped Kenya’s Ministry of Information, Communications and Information Technology (Moicit) 49-32 to book a date with JKT Mbweni.
NIC enjoyed the lion’s share of the game and it came as no surprise when they booked a place in the next stage.
Speaking to The Citizen on Saturday shortly after the matches, the Tanzania Netball Association (Chaneta) chairperson, Anna Kibira, said that she was happy with the way the four teams played in the semi-finals.
She congratulated JKT Mbweni and NIC for making it to the final, saying she believes the best team will win the final.
“We are very happy JKT Mbweni have qualified for the final. We are optimistic that they will make Tanzanians proud by emerging the new East Africa champions,” she said.
She called on the army team players to play their hearts out and wrest the regional trophy from NIC.
The Chaneta chairperson also asked Tanzanians to turn out at the National Stadium in large numbers to cheer the home team.
