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East High School won the Sanlam Kay Motsepe
Schools Cup Mpumalanga provincial final for the second year in a row at the
Thulamahashe Stadium in Bushbuckridge last Saturday. The win means the
Enhlanzeni school will be representing their province, together with Eric
Nxumalo Secondary School, who finished in second place, at the national finals
from 24 to 28 September at Durban’s King Zwelithini Stadium.
Team coach Sibusiso Chiloene is not that
surprised that his team has made it two in a row. “>From the start of the
season our aim was to win this tournament and therefore more money for the
school, and if you are so focused you can achieve your goals. We were
mentally and physically prepared,” he said.
As provincial champions, the school wins
R100 000 to be used to fund projects identified by the winning
school. “I can’t say on what the school will spend the winnings, but I
hope it is to continue to update the classrooms. We started with our
winnings last year and it has made such a difference to the morale of the
learners.”
The 2013 East High team had four new players
in their ranks, and they rose to the occasion brilliantly. “I thought that they
were going to have challenges because they were new to this
tournament but they did me proud,” Chiloene said.
Siyabonga Sibiya, who moved from KZN to East
High last year, was one of the key new players on Saturday. “Some of
my friends moved to the school and I decided to do the same due to the enormous
opportunities the school offers.”
Siyabonga’s inspiration is his father, who
played for Golden Arrows. “He pushed me to start playing and I have grown to
love the game. When I was 12 years old I even got to attend an academy in
Brazil. I hope to follow in my father’s footsteps and play for a PSL
club.”
The coach has identified one area that needs
to be worked on prior to the national finals. “The team needs to improve
on capitalising on opportunities to score more goals,” He said “We had numerous
chances to score, but our boys didn’t achieve due to lack of communication.”
Provincial Finals Results
Qualifiers
Qhubulwazi 2 vs Eric Nxumalo 5
East High 3 vs Kopanang 2
Third/Fourth playoff
Qhubulwazi 2 vs Kopanang 1
Final
East High 2(4) vs Eric Nxumalo 2(2)
