Johannesburg top the log as semifinal spots confirmed

The SPAR National Netball Championships, hosted by the City of Johannesburg, delivered another day of exhilarating action at Ellis Park on Thursday, with the same four teams as last year securing their spots in the semifinals.

After topping the log thanks to a superior goal difference to Mangaung, two-time defending champions Johannesburg will take on the team from Potchefstroom, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, while Mangaung will face Cape Winelands in the final four.

🗞️ Senior A Semi-Final spots confirmed! Two-time defending champions Johannesburg will take on Dr Kenneth Kaunda, while Mangaung will face Cape Winelands in the final four.

👉 https://t.co/OHQsmH8CYS#SPARNationalChamps #WeAreAllIn #EndGBVF pic.twitter.com/A7PLi1mrvT

— Netball South Africa (@Netball_SA) December 5, 2024

Johannesburg sealed their spot with another two victories on Thursday, first beating Cape Winelands 56-43 and then claiming a 54-40 victory over Nelson Mandela Bay.

Johannesburg coach Elsjé Jordaan said it was mission accomplished for her side, who had planned from the start to finish the round-robin stage on top.

“We’re very happy – just to build that winning culture that we’re used to. It took a lot of hard work. We had to dig really deep. There are some tired bodies but now the tournament starts all over again,” she said.

Jordaan added that her side will need to start their matches better as they head into the knockout rounds.

“We’ve got a few inexperienced players who are playing for the first time at this level and you can see it at the start,” she explained.

“They have to grow up, you have to learn somewhere and the only way you learn is being out there on the court… So that’s been a bit painful for us and quite expensive. We turn a lot of ball and then we don’t get the reward with the score so we need to get those per centages up.”

MANGAUNG READY FOR SEMI

Despite Johannesburg handing their only loss of the tournament so far, last year’s runners-up Mangaung finished in second spot on the log on goal difference, after suffering a defeat of their own, to Cape Winelands on the opening day.

Speaking after her side had notched up a 63-31 victory over eThekwini and beaten fellow semifinalists Dr Kenneth Kaunda 44-41 in a tight encounter on Thursday, Mangaung coach Martha Mosoahle-Samm said: “These are the types of games we really train for. We have to test ourselves when we are under pressure and I’m quite pleased with how we kept the ball even under immense pressure. It shows we are ready for the semifinal.”

Mosoahle-Samm said she and former SPAR Proteas teammate Jordaan (the Johannesburg coach) are always pleased to avoid each other in the semifinals.

“We always look out for each other and joke with Elsje saying we don’t want to play each other in the semis, but there is no easy semifinal. This is the top four… we don’t take anything for granted. It’s going to be a tough one.”

Speaking about taking on the only side to have beaten them this week for a place in the final, the coach added: “The girls know that we slipped up against them earlier in the week. I think it’s a good semifinal for us – just to go and rectify all the mistakes that we made.”

Relieved to have made it into the final after three losses in the tournament were Dr Kenneth Kaunda, who beat Ekurhuleni 55-26 earlier in the day before going down to Mangaung.

After losing to Johannesburg earlier in the day, Cape Winelands defeated eThekwini 56-35 to secure third spot on the log and will meet Mangaung in the semifinal.

Heading into the day, Cape Town still had an outside chance of reaching the semifinals after their draw with Cape Winelands on Wednesday, but a surprise 52-54 loss to Tshwane put paid to those plans.

Meanwhile, in the under-21 tournament, defending champions Tshwane safely negotiated their way into the semifinals where they will come up against Dr Kenneth Kaunda while in the other semi, hosts Johannesburg will take on Cape Town.