Jamaica wrapped up the Margaret Beckford Sunshine Netball Series 3-0 against the Spar Proteas in Kingston with a convincing 58-47 victory on Saturday, but South Africa coach Jenny van Dyk believes the future for her team is bright.

South Africa got off to a poor start in the match, which was the third in the series. The Proteas did not score a goal until the sixth minute, when they were 6-1 down, and after eight minutes were trailing 11-1.

Both shooters, goal shooter Ina-Marie Venter and goal attack Nichole Breedt, were misfiring and Van Dyk brought goal defence Kamogelo Maseka on. She made an immediate difference and the South Africans managed to reduce the deficit to five goals by the end of the quarter.

Jamaica dominated the second quarter, though the Proteas fought back hard. Jamaica stretched their lead to 10 goals at least three times during the quarter and by halftime were 29-19 ahead.

The third quarter was closer, with Jamaica winning it 14-13, (43-32) but the damage had been done. At one stage, Jamaica had a 14-goal lead. Both sides became very physical.

With Jamaica giving their full bench a run, the Proteas managed to draw the final quarter 15-15, though Jamaica were 16 goals ahead at one stage.

Van Dyk said she was proud of the way the team fought their way back into the match after trailing so far just after the start.

“Coming back from that is not an easy task, but it should never have happened in the first place,” she said. “We are beginning to build something special and I think the Proteas will be a force to be reckoned with in the next few years.

“We got off to a very good start, winning the African Championship [under a new coaching and captaincy regime], and we needed a challenge. The series was a learning curve for each one of us and for the team.

“I think we showed a lot of character and grit, and we also confirmed our love for the game of netball.”

The Proteas move on to the UK next week for the Nations Cup against England, Uganda, and Malawi. Goal attack Nicola Smith, who was injured (wrist) in the first match in Jamaica, will be replaced by Western Cape-based Syntiche Kabuya, a former member of the Spar Baby Proteas.

The Baby Proteas had an impressive clean sweep in their series against Jamaica Under-21, providing strong preparation for the Netball Youth World Cup in Gibraltar in September and giving hope for the future.

“We learnt a lot of lessons from the series, I am very pleased with the way the girls listened to instructions and followed them,” Baby Proteas coach Precious Mthembu said.