Jaguars reign supreme in Bloem

The last day of the Telkom Netball League in Bloemfontein saw the Kingdom Stars retain their spot in Division A, while the Jaguars successfully defended their title when they defeated the Crinums 38-26.

The Kingdom Stars burst the bubble of the Eastern Aloes who went to promotion/relegation playoff match on a high after winning Division B last night by edging the sisters of the Stars, the Kingdom Queen. The Stars avenged for their sisters, by humiliating the side from Eastern Cape 54-30. From the onset, the team captained by Precious Mthembu were in control of the match.

However, the game was a curtain-raiser for the main event which followed minutes after.

The finale of the Telkom Netball League Division A final saw two of the best teams go head to head, the reigning champions the Jaguars and the Crinums, who throughout the championship showed excellent resilience, unfortunately, their fighting mentally was not enough to see the Jaguars troubled.

In similar final fashion, there was tension in the air as the stakes were high, the start of the match was cagey and filled with jitters from both sides. The Jags though grabbed the game by a chokehold when they activated the scoreboard by scoring the first two goals of the match, while the Crinums were still shell shocked by the occasion.

The side from Gauteng played with experience and won the game in the third quarter when they dominated the Crinums and ended the quarter 26-19. The Free State side was not keeping up with the pace of the game in the middle of the park, it was running away from Sne Mdletshe and Khanyisa Chawane. To their credit, the hosts did put up a good fight as they did throughout the competition but the good fight was not paying off in the big final.

For the Jaguars star performances from Marlize de Bruin, Venetia Grobler, Chantelle Swart, Akosua Mensah and Izette Griesel came to a full circle, they made sure that the dominance of the Jaguars as the country’s premium side continued, as they have won their fourth crown of the netball league.

Tournament awards

Best Shooter – Lefebre Rademan

Best Centre – Bongiwe Msomi

Best Defense – Nicola Smith

Overall Best Player – Izette Griesel