Tshwane, Cape Town, Mangaung and Johannesburg have all confirmed their semi-final spots with one round-robin match remaining at the SPAR National Netball Championships in Cape Town.
Tshwane extended their winning run by defeating four-time defending champions Johannesburg 53-46 on Sunday to finish the fourth day of the championships on top of the log.
The team from Pretoria dominated the first half of the match, reaching the half-time break 32-20 up, but dropped their intensity in the second, with Joburg winning the final quarter by five goals. But it was too little too late to catch up to the 2020 champions.
Tshwane coach Rozanne Matthyse has been pleased with her side’s efforts throughout the tournament so far but expressed concern over the drop in focus in the second half of several of their matches.
“We wanted to come into this tournament and set a standard and I think we’ve done that,” she said. “From the first match, we knew exactly what we wanted to do… I talk about the process quite often because I see it as hurdles and you need to get over that hurdle to eventually get to the semi-finals. So at this stage we’re confident in our standing and where we are in the log, but we know it’s still three more matches until we can seal the deal.”
Speaking about her team’s tendency to drop off towards the end of the match, she added: “It seems like our quarter three and four, we start very slow. It’s something that I definitely have to look at and see where the problems are, and what we do wrong. 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.”
Earlier in the day, Tshwane beat the Alfred Nzo team 39-28, although the match was affected by heavy rain and called off at the start of the third quarter.
Johannesburg’s earlier match saw them defeating the North West’s Kenneth Kaunda side 53-45.
Hosts Cape Town secured two convincing victories on Sunday, defeating eThekwini 68-34 before going on to beat the Alfred Nzo team 72-44 to finish the day second on the log.
Cape Town’s assistant coach, former SPAR Proteas defender Phumza Maweni, said she was pleased with her side’s showing so far as they look ahead to the playoffs.
“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… I think at this stage we’re really happy with what we have and we’re definitely looking forward…”
With South Africa celebrating National Women’s Day on Sunday, Maweni said there was no better place to mark the occasion than at the SPAR National Netball Championships, honouring the country’s sportswomen.
“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. I think it’s really special for women in sport.”
With the semi-finalists already confirmed, Monday morning’s final round-robin matches will determine who faces whom in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, in the under-21 A section, two-time defending champions Johannesburg continued their march towards a third title with a convincing 63-23 victory over Ekurhuleni.
Results
Senior A section
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 section
Johannesburg 63 – 23 Ekurhuleni
Tshwane 51 – 40 Royal Bafokeng
Mangaung 51 – 37 Cape Town
Ekurhuleni 28 – 28 Dr Kenneth Kaunda
Picture credits: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
