Namibian stars Heidi Kuzatjike and Monica Gomases are dazzling peers and onlookers alike in South Africa's netball scene.
Kuzatjike, who plays wing defence for the Western Cape Tornados, won the best player of the match award after her starring role ensured a 61-31 victory over Northern Cape Diamonds in a Telkom Netball League division two match yesterday.
On Friday, Monica Gomases won the player the match prize for leading the Fireballs to a 43-29 victory over her former side the Gauteng Jaguars in the highly-awaited division one Gauteng derby.
Durban played host to a successful Telkom Netball League 'Power Week'. The return of spectators brought a boisterous vibe to the venue and lovers of the beautiful game were also treated to some stimulating action for six days. There were a lot of surprises this time around which added some flavour to the tournament ahead of the next leg.
The Gauteng Jaguars registered the biggest victory so far in their last game this morning against the North West Flames after a firm 72-36 win. This victory moves them to second position on the log, having lost one match to the Golden Fireballs, who are the only team in division one, that maintained their winning momentum.
The Flames will have to dig deeper during the two-week break and work on crushing their winless streak following four consecutive defeats.
In division two, the Western Cape Tornados remained fourth on the log despite beating the Northern Cape Diamonds 61-31 yesterday. The Kingdom Queens had an improved start at home, backed up by their supporters, as they are currently third on the log.
The team has comfortably eased into their new coach Precious Mthembu's style of coaching, a former Kingdom Stars captain.
It was also a two-horse race for the number one spot between the Eastern Cape Aloes and the Mpumalanga Sunbirds until yesterday when the Aloes beat the Sunbirds in a top of the table clash to finish the first leg unbeaten.
The clubs have the opportunity to recoup and sharpen their game plan ahead of the next leg which gets underway on the 20th of this month at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria.
On Sunday, The Jaguars managed to redeem themselves against the Free State Crinums with a 53-38 win. Both teams came into this match to turn things around, having lost to the Fireballs in their previous games.
Overall, it was a great day for the Gauteng teams as the Golden Fireballs also wrapped up their Power Week unbeaten after winning 55-39 against the Stings.
The Fireballs have been one of the crowds' favourite following a prodigious start. The Kingdom Stars also recorded their first victory against the Flames after beating them 57-52 in a competitive encounter.
In division two, an invigorating game between the Kingdom Queens and the Eastern Cape Comets ended 38-38. The Comets put themselves in a good position to win the game when they were leading 30-23 in the championship quarter, but the Queens showed some belated fight in the last quarter to even things out in the end.
In another fixture, the Tornados ended their winless streak following an impressive 44-39 victory over the Limpopo Baobabs.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Cape Aloes reminded the Sunbirds why they are the current defending champions when they beat them 56-40.
– Adapted from Netball SA
Artmotion S.Africa
