Age triumphed over youth as the NMMU 1 alumni beat the NMMU 3 students 14-10 in a closely contested A-section final at the SPAR-NMMU Netball Tournament in Port Elizabeth at the weekend.
The season-opener, which took place at the university’s Second Avenue Campus, attracted a record 53 teams from across the metro.
Although the students led by a goal at halftime, it was experience that eventually won the day for a strong senior side, which featured former Protea players Zanele Mdodana and Lana Krige.
Mdodana represented South Africa at last year’s World Cup, while Krige is a former vice-captain of the national team and current SPAR-NMMU head coach.
The university’s netball manager Theresa le Roux said the youngsters played a fast and expansive game, but their momentum was curbed due to a number of unforced errors. “A lot of balls went out of court because they tried risky passes.
“The older players, on the other hand, stayed calm and stuck to their gameplan, playing the short passes and making sure they got the ball through to the shooters.”
She singled out Mdodana in goal defence and goalkeeper Queenie Diko for their strong defensive play. “They played really well and kept turning the ball over for their team.”
In the other pool finals, Framesby demolished NMMU’s second-tier team 31-4 in the A-reserve section, while Despatch took the B section from NMMU 1 in a narrow 15-12 win.
Valencia beat Malherbe 1 (21-13) for victory in section C, with KwaMagxaki topping pool D ahead of Otto du Plessis (11-5).
In the men’s league, NMMU once again dominated with NMMU 1 trouncing NMMU 2 (19-10) to take the top spot.
Players in the winning sides received prize money in the form of SPAR gift vouchers to a total value of R7 200.
The university’s netball chairperson Melinda Goosen said the tournament, which had grown substantially due to SPAR’s involvement over the past three years, was the club’s biggest event of the season.
“They’ve come on board and added to this tournament in such a huge way. All the clubs now want to come and play here.”
Goosen said organisers had been overwhelmed by the growing response – 36 teams had entered the previous year.
In another joint initiative, the SPAR-NMMU netball club will host a coaching clinic at Grens High School in East London on Friday, one of a series of clinics held throughout the Eastern Cape.
This will be followed by the SPAR Emma Kirchoff Memorial Tournament at Stirling High School on Saturday.
