Okonjima Dragons clinch 2019 Africa Cup

THE third Africa Cup was hosted by the Namibian Ice- and Inline Hockey Association (NIIHA) over the past weekend at The Dome in Swakopmund.

Nine teams competed in the Open Division, consisting of local players and international players from Canada, Spain, Germany, France, Brazil, Australia, India and South Africa.

Namibia was represented by the Namibia Junior and Senior men’s teams, that received their national colours from Freddy Mwiya from the Namibia Sports Commission on the occasion of the opening ceremony of Africa Cup.

For the first time the Africa Cup tournament also offered an under-14 Division and eight teams were entered, with one international team player from Taiwan.

It goes without saying that youth development has a high priority within NIIHA, so as to provide the players of the future.

The tournament started with a round robin format within two pools, where after the play-offs for placings and the finals were staged. The Okonjima Dragons, who defended the cup they won last year, played against the Namibia senior men’s team in the finals.

Namibia started off quickly by scoring two goals, which had the supporting crowd off their seats. The Dragons, however, bounced back and at half time had built up a 3-2 lead over Namibia.

The Dragons came back strongly in the second period scoring three more goals against Namibia, who could not find the net, despite several attacks on the opposing goal.

The final score of 6-2 in favour of Okonjima Dragons earned them the sought-after Africa Cup title, as well as the gold medal. Namibia’s senior men’s team had reached all the finals in the past, having won the first Africa Cup, with the Okonjima Dragons taking the second and third finals.

Third place went to Team Hockeyshop Forster from Germany who beat Namibia Junior Men 12-1 in the third place playoff. Buron Warriors from Germany came fifth, followed by Moose Knuckles from South Africa. Rhinos, Taleni Africa Dare Devils and Bandits. 

The Top Scorer and MVP (Most Valued Player) awards, established via game statistics and the awards committee, went to Dave Hammond from Okonjima Dragons.

The Top Defender award went to Sean Liechti,  with Ruben Bacher being awarded the Top Goalie award. Both players hail from the Namibia senior men’s team.

In the u14 division, relatively equal placed teams battled it out on a round robin format, with the fourth-placed team from Pool B (Team Weimann’s Carpentry) playing the second seeded team of Pool A (Team FNB) in a closely contested final with Weimann’s Carpentry securing a narrow 4-3 victory.

The MVP award went to Corinna Weimann (Team Weimann’s Carpentry), with Top Scorer being awarded to Mati Laporte (Team FNB) and Top Goalie to Bridgit Justinussen (Team Pupkewitz Von Baum’s Motors).

A separate skills competition was also held for the u14 teams and the winners were as follows;

Fastest Skater – Micah Januarie; Top Scorer – Keanan Simpson; Top Goalie – Jada Tati.

A highlight of this year’s Africa Cup was a first ever All-Star match showcased after the opening ceremony, between Team Africa and Team World.

Team Africa consisted of the best players from Africa, essentially Namibian and South African national players, with Team World comprising of international players from around the world.

The selection of these teams was supported by international referees from the USA, Switzerland and Germany who assisted NIIHA with overseeing fair play and rule enforcement.

In an action-packed game, the teams were tied 5-5 at the end of normal time, with Team World winning the penalty shoot out 6-5 to clinch the title.

With Africa Cup 2019 concluded, the Namibian Junior and Senior men’s teams will have one more training camp to prepare them for the World Roller Games in Barcelona, Spain, at the end of June.

 

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