The MTC Netball Premier League title race is wide open with three teams currently sharing the lead and another two hot on their heels following the weekend’s matches at Ongongo.
Namibia Correctional Services, Mighty Gunners and Otjozondjupa Nampol all picked up maximum points to share the lead on 22 points from 13 matches each, although NCS top of the log with the best goal difference.
NCS posted two emphatic victories, beating Eleven Arrows 63-17, after leading 32-9 at half time, and Fatou NC 67-16 after leading 35-8 at halftime.
That boosted their goal difference to 328, which put them well ahead of Gunners with a goal aggregate of 202, and Otjo Nampol with an aggregate of 149.
The defending champions Gunners also picked up two wins, but they received stiffer competition from Tigers and Young Stars.
Against Tigers they took a narrow 14-12 lead by the end of the first quarter, before going 27-18 ahead by halftime. By the end of the third quarter, Tigers were sill in touch with a 27-38 deficit, but Gunners pulled away in the final quarter to win the match 51-37.
On Sunday, Gunners got off to a stronger start against Young Stars, going 14-5 ahead by the end of the first quarter and 26-14 ahead by halftime.
Stars made a spirited comeback after halftime and in fact scored more points than Gunners in the second half, but Gunners’ lead was never threatened.
They went 38-25 ahead by the end of the third quarter, before completing a 45-39 victory.
Otjo Nampol remained amongst the leaders after collecting two victories against Rebels and Afrocat Lions.
On Saturday, they cruised to a 41-19 win against Rebels, after leading 14-4 by the first quarter, 19-9 by halftime, and 30-13 by the third quarter.
On Sunday, they received much stiffer competition from Afrocat Lions, and were pushed all the way before securing a four-point victory.
Nampol led 8-7 by the first quarter and still only had qone point lead at 17-16 by halftime.
Otjo Nampol managed to open up a four-point lead after the break, going 28-24 ahead by the end of the third quarter, and maintaining that advantage in the final quarter to win the match 35-31.
Namibian Navy and Wanderers remain hot on the front three’s heels, after they collected maximum points to move up to 20 points each on the log.
Navy beat Young Stars 59-37 on Saturday, after a strong second half performance. Young Stars only trailed 13-11 at the end of the first quarter, and 29-22 by halftime, but Navy pulled away to go 48-29 ahead by the third before completing a 22-point win.
On Sunday they had a stronger start against Tigers, going 14-3 ahead by the first quarter and 25-12 ahead by halftime, before stretching their lead to 35-18 by the third quarter and 43-28 at full time.
Wanderers also remain in the title hunt after two solid victories against Fatou FC and Rebels.
Against Fatou on Saturday, they went 18-4 ahead by the first quarter, 40-10 by halftime, and 50-19 by the third quarter before winning the match 65-23.
On Sunday they comfortably beat Rebels 50-29 after leading 10-8, 22-16 and 32-22 after the first three quarters.
The top five teams have now opened up a substantial lead over the rest of the pack, with Afrocat Lions and Tigers trailing six points behind in sixth and seventh positions on 14 points each.
In other results over the weekend, Northern Fly Ballers suffered a narrow 32-31 defeat to Afrocat Lions, but NFB managed to beat Eleven Arrows 42-37.
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