She Cranes put up a strong performance in the just concluded Fast 5 World Series tournament held at Christchurch Arena in New Zealand.
Uganda wrote history in bold on their first attempt as they finished 5th after winning three games out of the six they played.
She Cranes opened up against the hosts, New Zealand and lost, 49-32 but, they picked themselves up and defeated world’s number four, Jamaica 33-22.
Next was a controversial loss to England 38-34 in the third game. England got a penalty but delayed to score it hence the on court umpire calling for no goal but the technical bench counted it.
England’s last goal was worth six points because they were in a power play time thus winning the game by four. The other defeat was against South Africa, a 27-22.
SHE CRANES BEAT WORLD NUMBER ONE
Uganda shocked world’s number one Australia with a 32-30 score in a tight game that had many off their seats and biting nails.
Down 28-30, Mary Nuba Cholk, the fans’ favourite player of the tournament scored a four pointer goal that helped Uganda leapfrog Australia in the dying seconds.
Already out of the semifinals, Uganda had to play Jamaica again in a classification game which they won 32-10 to finish 5th in the tournament that was won by Australia.
Uganda’s next international games will be at the Netball World Cup in July 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa.
SHE CRANES RESULTS
DAY 1
New Zealand 49-32 Uganda
Uganda 33-22 Jamaica
England 38-34 Uganda
DAY 2
Uganda 32-30 Australia
Uganda 22-27 South Africa
Uganda 32-10 Jamaica
Photo credit: Uganda Netball Federation
