The Eastern Cape Aloes redeemed themselves against the Northern Cape Diamonds this morning in Rustenburg after winning 50-46. It was a competitive start to the game for both sides as they were only separated by just two goals in the first quarter, but the Aloes took charge from the second quarter and widened the gap by half-time. A granite-tough performance from the Diamonds in the dying minutes of the game couldn’t get them over the line despite closing the gap to just four goals in the end as the Aloes had too many answers to the questions posed on court.
In the second game of the day, the Eastern Cape Comets shattered the Limpopo Baobabs in the last quarter to win the game 53-48. The Comets found their rhythm from the word go and won the first quarter but a plethora of unforced errors in the second and third quarter, forced the team to now play catch up against the Baobabs. The Baobabs had to keep their heads up high after one of their key players – Theoner Mthombeni was stretched off the court during the game and replaced by Mphephu Ndivhuwo, who certainly understood the assignment. Mthombeni’s injury affected the teams’ morale which even resulted in captain Nthabiseng Mothutsi, being sent off following a number of cautions from the umpire. Comets Goal Attack Asekho Njeza’s goals in the last two minutes proved decisive and sealed the match.
‘’We started the game very well, according to our game plan and then Wonga got injured. I had to put in Mphephu, who did very well after I spoke to her,’’ said Baobabs’ coach- Anna Ledwaba. ‘’Both teams were playing their best and my team lost focus because of the pressure even though they were trying. We now have to sit together and rectify our mistakes and motivate them so that they can keep their cool’’, Ledwaba concluded after the game.
Another dramatic encounter between the Kingdom Queens and the Mpumalanga Sunbirds saw the Queens stage a comeback and win 37-34. The Sunbirds led for the first two quarters, but the Queens added pressure which forced the Sunbirds into panic, subsequently shooting up their error rate while the Queens set up a solid finish by a small margin. This was the Queens second win after eight games and the next four games for the Sunbirds will be crucial in order to secure that semi-final berth.
