By Adnaan Mohamed
The semi-final picture is taking shape at the SPAR National Netball Championships in Cape Town, with Tshwane, Cape Town, Mangaung and Johannesburg safely through to the playoffs after a fourth day of high-octane action.
Tshwane produced the statement performance of Sunday, beating four-time defending champions Johannesburg 53-46 to climb to the summit of the Senior A log.
The Pretoria side came out firing, building a commanding 32-20 half-time advantage. Johannesburg found another gear after the interval and won the final quarter by five goals, yet Tshwane had built enough breathing room to keep the champions at arm’s length.
For coach Rozanne Matthyse, the result underlined the progress of a team determined to set the tournament’s benchmark.
“We wanted to come into this tournament and set a standard and I think we’ve done that,” she said.
Matthyse likened the campaign to clearing a series of hurdles, with every match another obstacle between Tshwane and the ultimate prize.
Her concern is that her players have occasionally taken their foot off the accelerator after establishing commanding leads.
“It seems like our quarter three and four, we start very slow,” she said. “I think sometimes it is very complacent that they go into that third quarter feeling that they have that lead and they can relax… It is a problem that we’re giving teams a little bit of confidence where we don’t need to.”
That warning could prove prophetic when the margins become razor-thin in the playoffs. In netball, a comfortable lead can evaporate faster than a missed centre pass.
Tshwane earlier beat Alfred Nzo 39-28 in a rain-affected encounter that was abandoned at the start of the third quarter. Johannesburg had opened their day with a 53-45 victory over Dr Kenneth Kaunda.
Hosts Cape Town were equally ruthless, brushing aside eThekwini 68-34 before beating Alfred Nzo 72-44 to finish second.
Assistant coach and former SPAR Proteas defender Phumza Maweni was delighted with the progress.
“I’m very satisfied to be honest. We worked for this. We’ve been building up all the combinations, and these two games really helped us to see who can push until the end…”
Sunday also carried added significance as South Africa celebrated National Women’s Day.
For Maweni, there was no better stage than a national netball championship to celebrate women in sport.
“Being athletes and being around the women who really push you and see you as a leader, it’s huge, and having the tournament over Women’s Day is really special for women athletes,” she said.
“There are a lot of kids that look up to the SPAR Proteas so when they see us, they see the leaders and when we see them, we learn from them as well. I think SPAR is doing a great job to combine all the women under one umbrella on this day.”
With Tshwane, Cape Town, Mangaung and Johannesburg through, Monday’s final round-robin matches will decide the semi-final pairings.
The scoreboard has done its work. Now the permutations take centre stage.
Senior A results
- Cape Town 68-34 eThekwini
- Alfred Nzo 28-39 Tshwane
- Johannesburg 53-45 Dr Kenneth Kaunda
- Nelson Mandela Bay 35-52 Mangaung
- Cape Town 72-44 Alfred Nzo
- Tshwane 53-46 Johannesburg
- Botswana 49-50 Mangaung
- eThekwini 29-36 Nelson Mandela Bay
- Namibia 60-44 Dr Kenneth Kaunda
Under-21 A results
- Johannesburg 63-23 Ekurhuleni
- Tshwane 51-40 Royal Bafokeng
- Mangaung 51-37 Cape Town
- Ekurhuleni 28-28 Dr Kenneth Kaunda