The SPAR Baby Proteas edged their names in the history books on Thursday as they beat Cook Islands 79 -45 to book South Africa a first ever semi-final spot at the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar.<\/p>\n
Photo credits:<\/i><\/b>\u00a0Netball World Cup<\/p>\n
The victory for Head Coach Precious Mthembu and her troops allows them an opportunity to compete for a podium finish.<\/p>\n
Cook Islands were quick to get off the mark hoping to catch South Africa off guard \u2013 this plan seemed to work temporarily however the SPAR Baby Proteas recovered with speed, settled and found their feet. At the end of the opening quarter, the SPAR Baby Proteas were leading with five points taking the quarter 18 -13.<\/p>\n
In the second quarter, South Africa steadily pulled away from their opponents, putting pressure on Cook Islands going into the half time break leading 38 \u2013 21.<\/p>\n
At the start of the championship quarter, the SPAR Proteas made come changes and fresh legs paid off as South Africa managed to score 17 goals in response to Cook Islands\u2019 14.<\/p>\n
The SPAR Baby Proteas were well on track to creating history \u2013 the team had never finished anywhere higher than fifth in this tournament \u2013 and knew a win on Thursday would put them into the tournament\u2019s top four.<\/p>\n
After 45 minutes SPAR Baby Proteas were cruising comfortably and went into the final quarter leading 55 -45.<\/p>\n
Cook Islands continued to put up a solid fight, but it wasn\u2019t enough to deny the SPAR Baby Proteas an opportunity to go into their first ever Netball World Youth Cup semifinal. At the end of the match, South Africa secured their last four spot with a 79 \u2013 45 win and will now face off against four-time world champions and current silver medallist Australia on Friday 26th<\/sup>\u00a0September.<\/p>\n \u201cI am incredibly proud of the girls; I am actually tearing up. This is history in the making because we have finally secured a quarter final victory and booked a semi-final spot, this has never happened before. The girls believed in each other, supported one another and this is unbelievable. This win is testament to the discipline, hard work, and determination by the girls throughout the journey. We now need to shift focus to tomorrow\u2019s game against Australia,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>said an emotional SPAR Baby Proteas Head Coach Precious Mthembu.<\/p>\n Quarter Score Breakdown:<\/strong><\/p>\n Q1 \u2013 SPAR Baby Proteas 18 \u2013 13 Cook Islands<\/p>\n Q2 – SPAR Baby Proteas 38 \u2013 21 Cook Islands<\/p>\n Q3 – SPAR Baby Proteas 55 \u2013 35 Cook Islands<\/p>\n Q4 – SPAR Baby Proteas 79 \u2013 45 Cook Islands<\/p>\n SPAR Baby Proteas Starting XII<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n GS -Mbali Diphoko; GA \u2013 Giada Prinsloo; WA \u2013 Renezia Andrews; C- Karla Victor ( C); WD \u2013 Zahrah Noah ( C ); GD \u2013Kiara van Eeden; GK \u2013 Luca Keun\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"