The Free State Crinums clinched the inaugural Brutal Fruit Netball Cup, beating the Gauteng North Jaguars 40-36 after extra time in a tightly contested final at the Pretoria University Sports Centre on Sunday.

The Crinums lead 16-14 at the break, but the Jaguars came back hard in the final quarter taking the lead with a minute to go to the final whistle.

The Jaguars tried to run down the clock, but a reckless pass saw them relinquish possession. The Crinums swiftly moved the ball to the post, where captain and goal attack Maryke Holtzhausen scored a brilliant goal from the edge of the half-circle to equalize at 31-all with seconds remaining.

The match subsequently went into extra time, seven minutes each way, and the teams exchanged goal for goal, finishing level on 35-all after the first period of extra time.

Crinums experience came to the forehand in the final seven minutes as they scored five goals in the second half of extra-time to clinch the title.

Meanwhile, the Southern Stings won promotion to the first division of the Brutal Fruit Netball Cup by hammering the Eastern Aloes 52-40 in the promotion/relegation match.