Zambia proved their mettle as a serious contender for the ongoing Pent Netball Series in Windhoek, by beating Namibia 53-45 in an exciting game played at the Israel Patrick Iyambo College yesterday. A considerably large crowd turned up to witness the Namibia-Zambia showdown, which proved to be exciting as play switched from one side to the other, coupled with goals galore from the onset to the end. By the first quarter Zambia was leading the encounter by 13 to 12. Zambia continued where they left off, by also gaining the upper hand in the remaining three quarters, despite strong pushes by Namibia to close the gap. Some changes in the Namibian team injected new life, but Zambia's defence refused to be outdone as they stood the test of time. It was the arrival of Vaanda Katjaimo in the place of goal attacker Anna Kasper that came to change the complexity of the game for Namibia, but time was not on their side as it was too little, too late. The final score was 53 to 45 in favour of the Zambians. Both coaches summed up the game afterwards. Namibia’s Coach Manuelle Tjivera said they expected to take the win but the result was unfortunate. “Zambia is one of the best teams in Africa and in the world, so the way we played against them, I think the girls delivered very well. They came to the party and they really put Zambia under pressure.” He called on the Namibian nation to still continue supporting the girls. Zambia’s coach Charles Zulu said it was a very tough game. “Namibia is playing at home, this is our first game. Namibia played yesterday and they were already in the competition and they gave us a lot of pressure” Zulu said. In the day's other game, Swaziland registered their first victory of the tournament by beating Botswana 39-32.