POLOKWANE – Head coach Nakedi Raphalo and his assistant, Tumelo Mphahlele, have a good base to grow from after current national coach Malemola Raphasha laid a solid foundation for the province.
Since winning the tournament in 2015 under the tutelage of Raphasha, Limpopo has been on a rollercoaster of passion and emotion as they won the first instalment of the Premier League and the season opener, the Gordon Monk competition.
The coaching staff of Raphalo and Mphahlele, ably aided by the expertise of Thapelo Seshoka, will pin their faith in the country’s pitcher-in-chief, Tidima Kekana, second base ace Sello Molongoane, nimble-footed shortstop Matleng Phasha, first baseman Phomolo Phaladi, catcher third baseman Nkomori Chepape and outfielder Mandla Matswinyane.
Despite the depth of talent in the Limpopo squad, Raphalo is not complacent. “We are eyeing a gold medal at the tournament. We are well aware that all the provincial teams in the country want to prove their worth by beating Limpopo. We will go to this tourney knowing that we are the biggest threat. We have talented and committed players who want to continue to raise the provincial flag high. We will take our whole arsenal to this sporting war and hopefully they will do their utmost best. They have done that before and played softball at the highest standard internationally,” Raphalo said.
Raphasha said the championship will produce the senior men and the u/23 team who are preparing for their respective world cups under the banner of World Baseball Softball Confederation. The u/23 team will jet off to Argentina for their games which will be held from October 22-30 in the city of Parana.
Raphasha and his charges will fly to Auckland, New Zealand, where they will trade bats from November 26 to December 4. “Tournaments like the NPC provide us coaches and players to fine-tune our game plans ahead of international games. By the time the NPC is concluded, we will know our strengths and weaknesses.”
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