Police IX Ladies survived a tense qualification scare, edged rivals BDF and kept their Selibe Phikwe title defence alive.
GAZETTE REPORTER
Police IX Ladies Softball Club staged a remarkable comeback to secure qualification for the highly anticipated Selibe Phikwe Softball Extravaganza after surviving a tense weekend of elimination matches at the National Diamond Grounds in Gaborone.
EARLY SURGE
The defending champions made an impressive start to the qualifiers, thrashing UB Giants Ladies 20-2 in their opening Group A fixture.
Drawn in a competitive pool alongside Vikings, Wells and BDF, Police continued their strong run with a hard-fought 6-5 victory over Vikings to strengthen their chances of progressing through the tournament.
QUALIFYING SCARE
However, their campaign suffered a setback when they went down 5-3 to Wells, leaving their qualification hopes hanging in the balance. The defeat meant everything rested on their final group encounter against bitter rivals BDF Ladies in what effectively became a must-win contest for the Queens, as Police are affectionately known in softball circles.
PRESSURE RESPONSE
With the pressure mounting, Police rose to the occasion, producing a stellar performance to edge BDF 6-4 and keep their title defence alive.
The victory saw Police finish level on points with BDF in second place, forcing tournament officials to apply the head-to-head rule to determine the final qualification spot. Having defeated BDF, Police advanced to the prestigious tournament, which will be held in Selibe Phikwe from 17 July.
RELIEF MOMENT
In a post-match interview with Gazette Sport, Police Ladies head coach Tawina Phibion expressed relief at achieving the team’s primary objective against the odds.
“Our main goal was to qualify for the Selibe Phikwe Extravaganza, and I am delighted that we managed to do that. It was not an easy elimination tournament because every team wanted to compete in Phikwe. Although qualification had to be decided on the head-to-head rule, I am proud of the character the players showed after their defeat to Wells. They displayed resilience, determination and composure when it mattered most,” he said.
WORK AHEAD
Despite sealing their place in the tournament, Phibion admitted that the qualifying campaign exposed areas that require urgent improvement if Police are to successfully defend the title they won last year.
“This tournament was an eye-opener for us. We recently lost to BDF in another competition, and we also struggled in certain aspects of our game during these qualifiers. There is still work to be done and we must return to the drawing board, correct our mistakes and prepare thoroughly before travelling to Selibe Phikwe,” he added.
TITLE DEFENCE
Police’s qualification keeps their hopes alive of retaining the championship they won last year. They join Titans, Wells and Panthers as the Southern representatives, while Comets, Carats, Ghetto Yankees and Scramblers secured the four qualification spots from the Northern region.