Team SA opened their women’s wheelchair basketball campaign at the inaugural African Para Games in Accra, Ghana, with a convincing 64-6 win over Zambia on Tuesday.
This was a pleasing result as South Africa needed to get off to a good start in a competition reduced to seven countries after the withdrawal of Nigeria due to their Government removing their support on the day of travel.
Algeria, Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, South Africa, DR Congo and Morocco are the seven countries vying for the medals.
Team SA got off to an early 4-2 lead before the match was stopped for a lengthy period. On the resumption they stretched their lead to 12-2 at the end of the first quarter.
There were ongoing issues with the stats and scoring system which led to further prolonged delays in the match.
In the second quarter Team SA continued to do the attacking and moved out to a 24-2 lead with four minutes of the period remaining. At the hooter to end the second quarter, their lead was 30-4.
The domination continued into the third quarter and Team SA further stretched their lead, despite the frustration of the ongoing delay, to lead 42-6 at the end of the period.
It was more of the same in the final stanza, where Team SA put Zambia under even more sustained pressure, finally closing off the game with a 64-6 winning performance.
In other women’s action on Monday’s opening day, Algeria had been too strong for Kenya, winning 98-8, while Morocco edged hosts Ghana in a low-scoring affair 23-12.
Team SA are represented in two codes at these African Para Games – wheelchair basketball and tennis. The country’s top wheelchair tennis athletes, Alwande Sikhosana, ranked No1 in Africa, and Leon Els, the No2 ranked player, fly the flag, with action starting on Wednesday.
“Both Alwande and Leon have been working tirelessly and are fully prepared for these Games. We do not underestimate the competition, despite our players being seeded in the top four. We are prepared to bring all our weapons onto the court. The significance of this event cannot be overstated, as the winner secures an automatic spot in the Paris Paralympics next year,” said Team SA coach and manager, Patrick Selepe.