Tshwane and Cape Town to square off for national netball title
· Citizen
New champions will be crowned on Tuesday, for the first time in five years, when Tshwane meet hosts Cape Town in the final of the Spar National Netball Championships.
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In a thrilling Gauteng derby on Monday, Tshwane pulled off a stunning victory over defending champions Johannesburg in the first semifinal.
With the scores level at 47-47, and Tshwane on attack in the dying stages of regulation time, an intercept from Johannesburg wing defence Phula Ntuli forced the game into extra time.
Then, at the end of extra time, Johannesburg goal shooter Tinita van Dyk levelled the scores at 55-55 in the final second.
This pushed the game into extended extra time, with the first side to take a two-goal lead securing victory.
And Johannesburg were ultimately edged out, with experienced Tshwane goal shooter Ine-Mari Venter scoring twice to snatch the win for her team.
‘They were great competitors’
Johannesburg, who had won the title the last four years in succession, lost to Tshwane and Cape Town in the round robin stage of the tournament last week, and Venter was full of praise for their Gauteng rivals for putting up such a powerful fight.
“We know Johannesburg are always going to come back stronger and harder. They have that discipline to adjust really quickly, which is what we saw today,” Venter said.
“I think sometimes we were slow to adjust, but we stayed in it, which is the important part because when you stay in it, it can go either way.
“They were great competitors in this semifinal, but at the end of the day we were able to pull it through, and I’m just really thankful for that.”
Staying grounded
Tshwane remained unbeaten at the six-day tournament, which was being played at Stellenberg High School, but Venter insisted they were not getting ahead of themselves as they geared up for what was expected to be a hard-fought final on Tuesday.
Cape Town coasted to a 68-53 victory over Mangaung in the second semifinal and were set to enter the trophy battle full of confidence, despite having slipped in a 59-52 defeat to Tshwane in the round robin stage.
“Like we saw [against Johannesburg], whether you’re favourites or not it doesn’t count on the day,” Venter said.
“You still need to rock up and be prepared…and in a final it can go either way.”