Tshwane and Cape Town to square off for national netball title
Cape Town coasted to a convincing win over Mangaung and Tshwane narrowly defeated Johannesburg in the semifinals.
The Spar National Netball Championships will determine the new champions on Tuesday, marking the first time in five years. The final pits Tshwane against the hosts, Cape Town, in a Gauteng derby. In the semifinal on Monday, Tshwane edged out defending champions Johannesburg, setting the stage for an intense showdown. With the match deadlocked at 47-47 in regulation time, a crucial intercept by Johannesburg's Phula Ntuli extended the game to extra time.
Van Dyk then equalized scores at 55-55 in the final seconds of extra time, pushing the match to further extra periods. Ultimately, Johannesburg fell short as Tshwane's Ine-Mari Venter scored twice, securing the title. Venter commended Johannesburg for their competitive spirit, noting that the team remained resilient despite being the underdogs.
Tshwane, unbeaten throughout the tournament, expressed gratitude for their hard-fought victory but cautioned against becoming overly confident ahead of the final. Cape Town, having won the second semifinal match against Mangaung, entered the final with confidence, emphasizing that title battles are rarely determined by seedings.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
