Stings Celebrate as Crinums Await Jaguars Pounce

The Kingdom Stars opened action on the final weekend of Brutal Fruit Netball Cup, beating the Northern Cape Diamonds 52-48 to book a place in the second-division final on Saturday, June 7, 2014 at the Pretoria University Sports Centre.

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Made to fight all the way for a 27-22 lead at halftime, the Stars had Minky Moahloli replace Michelle Segal as goalshooter, and their two Spar Proteas, Precious Mthembu and Bongiwe Msomi changing places in the centre court, with Msomi taking over as centre, and Mthembu moving to wing attack, going on to dominate the third quarter with a comfortable seven-goal lead.

The Diamonds came back strongly with former Protea Claudia Booysen on song, and drew level 45-all with six minutes to go, but the Diamonds faltered, and the Stars were able to pull through for the win.

Stings Breeze Through

In the final second-division semi-final, the Southern Stings barely raised a sweat as they swept aside the Limpopo Baobabs, to book the final berth of the second division final with a devastating final score of 65-17.

A mark of the ease with which the team from the Western Cape dominated play was the fact that the Baobabs scored only two goals in the final quarter.

The Stings outclassed the Baobabs in every aspect of play, but it was their centre court team which kept the Baobabs struggling for every point.

Crinums Too Good for Fireballs

Division 1 Brutal Fruit competition started at 4pm with the Free State Crinums up against the Golden Fireballs, who had improved with every match they played after a slow start in the tournament, but their best was not good enough for the Crinums, who edged the knock-out match by 42 goals to 39.

The Free State took the lead from the start, but only lead by a slim 24-21 at half-time, the Fireballs having shown no indication of lying down.

The Fireballs drew level 10 minutes into the second half and the lead changed hands several times after that, the crowd getting behind the teams to a deafening noise.

With a number of Spar Proteas in both teams, the standard of play was high, and there were long passages of play when the ball swept from one end to the other, with neither team able to exert their dominance.

But in the final assessment, the Crinums kept the same team throughout, made fewer errors and were able to get the ball into their circle more often and with minutes to go, they forged ahead to win the day, and a shot at progress in the tournament’s final weekend.

Crinums coach Burta de Kock said she thought the difference between the two sides was that the Crinums had been better at absorbing pressure, and exercising patience. “If you make crucial mistakes, you will lose the match,” said a disappointed Fireball coach, Martha Mosoahle-Samm.

Jaguars Edge Flames for Unbeaten Honours

The second semifinal followed featuring the table-topping Jaguars, who managed to overcome a first-quarter goal deficit of six goals to beat the North West Flames by a nail-biting 51 goals to 49.

The Jaguars had to play catch-up throughout the match. They won the second and third quarters, but because of the big goal deficit in the first quarter, it needed a super-human effort to draw level four minutes into the final quarter.

Once again, it was a case of first one side and then the other taking the lead. The Flames brought back their rising star, Chante Steyn, as goalshooter, and the Jaguars brought Proteas star Vanes-Mari du Toit in after the first quarter. The centre court players on both sides worked like demons, with action up and down the court. The Jaguars finally took the lead minutes from the end, and managed to keep the ball out of the Flames end. Once again, it was heartbreak for the North West side, who lost four of their league matches by a single goal.

“It was an excellent game. The Jaguars came back well, and we made some mistakes and couldn’t keep possession,” said Flames coach Dorette Badenhorst. “We played well throughout the tournament, and I’m looking forward to next year. This is a young team and we have plenty to work on before next year.”

Jaguars coach Jenny van Dyk said she was proud of the way her team had fought until the end, never giving up. “I really believe we can win this,” she said.

Stings Outplay Stars In Search of Promotion

Saturday’s final match went to the highly-anticipated Division 2 final between the KZN Kingdom Stars and log leaders, the unbeaten Western Cape Southern Stings.

The Stings sailed through the league without losing a match, and seemed destined for an easy ride to victory, but the Stars, from KwaZulu Natal, stepped up a gear and put up a good fight in the final. They were only two goals behind after the first quarter, and at halftime, the Stings led 18-14.

The game was fast-paced and the Stings were never able to relax, as each time they surged ahead, the Stars fought back. The Stings centre court players, led by centre Sune Claassens, did an excellent job of controlling play, and their goal defenders, Rochelle Lawson and Phumza Maweni, were outstanding in the circle, turning the ball on a number of occasions.

Although the Stars fought hard, they were on a hiding to nothing against a team determined to prove that they belonged in the first division of the tournament. The KwaZulu Natal team played their best shooters, Minky Moahloli and Michelle Segal, who worked well together, and their Spar Protea stars, Bongiwe Msomi and Precious Mthembu, played their hearts out as they tried to keep their team in the game, but the powerful Western Cape outfit triumphed 39-31 as the tournament came to a close.

“I am disappointed, because when you play in a final, you always play to win,” said Stars coach Marchelle Maroun. “Finals are different – anything can happen in a final.

“But I am proud of the girls – we lost to the Stings in both our league matches, and we were much closer this time. We put up a very good fight, and we have learnt a lot from this tournament. We improved with every game we played.”

“Finals are never easy, and the Stars gave us a very good game,” said Stings coach Benny Saayman. “It is a very young team, and we can only get better.

“It is a great relief to have won the Shield – that was our first objective. Now we can afford to think about tomorrow and our match against the Eastern Aloes. They are a good team, and we both have a lot to prove, so I think it could be a very close match.”

The Stings goal attack Mari-Lena Joubert, was named player of the match, and Rochelle Lawson was named player of the tournament. The Stars’ charismatic centre, Bongiwe Msomi, was named players’ player of the tournament.

The victory gives the Western Cape team the right to play the Eastern Aloes in a promotion/relegation match on Sunday.

Main Photo caption: Captain of Saturday’s winning team, Leanie Kleynhans, pictured with her Southern Stings and their winning moment with the 2014 Brutal Fruit Netball Cup Division 2 trophy. The Southern Stings beat the Kingdom Stars 39-31 at the Tuks University’s Rembrandt Hall, in Pretoria on Saturday 7 June, 2014. Photo: Catherine Kotze/SASPA

(With editing by gsport)