Heartbreak as Proteas fall short of Netball World Cup semi-final

The Spar Proteas’ Netball World Cup semi-final dreams slithered away at a subdued Cape Town Town International Convention Centre on Thursday afternoon.

Tasked with the near-impossible scenario of having to defeat Uganda by 64 or more points after Jamaica stunned defending champions New Zealand earlier in the day, the Proteas were unable to produce a miracle to secure their passage to semi-final play-offs.

FT! SA 52 - 50 Uganda

The #SparProteas dream is over! 😭

But they defeat Uganda at this #NetballWorldCup but it wasn’t enough to get them into the semifinals. @IOLsport @IOL pic.twitter.com/7SlNtAAbyS

— Zaahier Adams (@ZaahierAdams) August 3, 2023

They fought gamely, and even had the nation dreaming at half-time when they led 33-19, but ultimately the mountain was too steep despite their 52-50 victory.

It will undoubtedly be a campaign where there will be plenty of ‘what if's', but at least goal shooter Ine-Marí Venter rediscovered her touch after a horror show against New Zealand in the previous match.

Venter was back to a shooting ratio of 92.9%, missing just two attempts out of 28, which allowed the Proteas to hold the advantage in the first two quarters.

But the wind seemed to go knocked out of the Proteas’ sails as their semi-final qualification hopes dissipated with the She-Cranes taking full control of the last two quarters.

With Venter replaced by Elmeré van der Berg shortly after halftime, Uganda fought back fiercely to win the third quarter 17-8 and reduce a 14-point deficit to just five points.

The all-African battle intensified even further in the final quarter with the Proteas’ lead reduced to just a single goal for the majority of the last 15 minutes.

The Proteas will now head into a playoff match on Friday evening at 6pm to determine whether they will play for 7th and 8th position or 5th and 6th position on Sunday.

@ZaahierAdams