The first gold medal for Team South Africa’s at the Region 5 Games in Windhoek was won by basketball’s 3×3 girls at the UN Plaza on Friday, writes Mark Lemke.
The quartet of Jodi Stemmet, Saskia Johnson, Bokang Lefakane, and Tintswalo Siwele, who are all 15-years-old, had faced Zambia for the gold medal. The game was back and forth throughout with the crowd bouncing out of their seats with every point, block, and foul.
Team SA gave it their all in every attack and defence and their efforts paid off when the final whistle sounded, securing a 12-10 victory and the first gold medal of the Region 5 Youth Games.
The girls had started the day with a 12-5 win over Botswana in their Pool. They then suffered a 12-10 loss to Malawi in the second Pool game, but the disappointment did not last long when they learned they were through to the semi-finals to face the strong favourites, Angola.
The semi-final went down to the wire with a ten-minute dispute between the officials over a point in Angola’s favour. After careful deliberation, the point was taken away and the Team SA girls won the match 8-7 to see them through to the final.
“This feels amazing for us, we hope that everyone back home is proud of us because we fought for them today,” said Lefakane in the post-match celebrations.
The boys side consisted of four 16-year-olds, Thabo Marotola , Litha Madinda, Reza Creamer, and Alexander Papadimas. They had similar results in the Pool matches which began with a 15-14 win over Botswana, followed by a narrow 10-11 loss to Malawi.
Papadimas said after the Pool matches concluded: “It feels great to represent my country after all the hard work me and the rest of the guys have put in. This is one of my dreams that has come true, so it is a proud moment for me and my family.”
They qualified for the semi-finals where they faced Angola, who were spoken about around the ground as nailed on gold medallists. The Team SA boys fought hard and got into an early lead of 6-1, however the momentum swung in favour of Angola which led to Team SA bowing out. The final score was 12-17 to Angola.
The manager of the boys side, Mokheti Khoantle, reflected on the day,.“The guys did very well, it is not the result we wanted but we now have the 5×5 to look forward to and we will be looking to improve on today’s performance.”
These athletes will all be back in action on Saturday in the 5×5 basketball event. The girls will be looking to replicate their outstanding performance and bring home another gold, and the boys are confident they can better their result of Friday and earn themselves a medal.
Photo: Frennie Shivambu
