Jaguars douse Flames’ trophy hopes in final
A superb and energetic fourth quarter display from the Gauteng Jaguars gave them a 49-43 win over the North West Flames in the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League final today (Sunday, 11 June) The Jaguars under the tutelage of coach, Jenny van Dyk, started the brightest and kept the momentum to take the well-deserved title …
A superb and energetic fourth quarter display from the Gauteng Jaguars gave them a 49-43 win over the North West Flames in the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League final today (Sunday, 11 June)
The Jaguars under the tutelage of coach, Jenny van Dyk, started the brightest and kept the momentum to take the well-deserved title back to Pretoria.
The Jaguars had too much bite for the Flames who failed to use most of their opportunities and had to play catch up for most of the match.
The former had more composure throughout with Chantelle Swart shooting in the goal regularly and captain Shadine van der Merwe keeping the Flames goal machine, Renske Stoltz at bay for most of the match. Van der Merwe had an excellent match for her side and together with wing attack, Ihette Griessel, were the two stars for the Jaguars on the court.
The Flames though never gave up in this entertaining and unpredictable final and managed to claw their way back with a great third quarter where they outscored the Jaguars 12-10. Kifiloe Tsotetsi (GS) and Romé Dreyer (C) was central to this as the two combined well to keep their side in the match. With the score at 35-34 in the Jaguars favour anything could still happen in the deciding last 15 minutes.
Van der Merwe left her best netball and energy for this final quarter as she steals and vision on defense virtually sealed her side’s victory. The pressure got to the Flames in their first NPL final and the Jaguars took previous failures and learned from them to finally win a final in their third attempt.
“We approached the game differently this time around and played as if it was a normal game and not a final. It is great to finally break the curse in the final,” said a delighted player of the match, Ihette Griessel.
Dorette Badenhorst, coach of the North West Flames gave credit to the Jaguars and was still proud of her side for making it through to the final, although she ended up on the losing team.
“We were not good enough on the day. We will learn from our mistakes and be back next year. Credit to the Jaguars who played excellent netball,” said Badenhorst.
Read more on the Flames NPL tournament in this week’s Potchefstroom Herald
