Defending champions Namibia Correctional Service replaced Namibian Navy at the top of the MTC Netball Premier League after taking maximum points over the weekend.
On Saturday they beat Unam Jaguars 51-22 after taking command from the start. They led 14-6 by the end of the first quarter, and were well in control with a 28-11 lead by halftime. They dominated the third quarter, scoring 15 points and only conceding one to go 43-12 ahead before completing a comprehensive 51-22 win.
On Sunday they received stiffer opposition from Tigers, but also emerged victorious with a hard-fought 42-36 win.
Nothing much separated the teams at the beginning, with the score level at 11-all at the end of the first quarter, while NCS went 23-19 ahead by halftime.
They continued to hold a three-goal advantage going 31-28 ahead by the end of the third quarter, and although Tigers narrowed the gap to 37-35, NCS pulled away in the final minutes to win by a six-goal margin.
Those two wins saw NCS replacing Namibian Navy at the top of the log on 32 points from 17 matches, with Navy now second on 30, although they have a match in hand.
As with last season, the league will now once again be decided between these two teams who have pulled well clear of the rest of the pack.
Last season NCS pipped Navy to the title by four points after beating their arch-rivals 45-33 in their final match and this season’s title will once again be decided when the two sides meet on 15 September.
Despite going to the top of the log after beating Tigers, NCS coach Salomon Tuaire said they will have to lift their game if they want to beat Navy.
“We knew it would not be an easy match and my girls played very hard. Ithink we’ll have to fine-tune a lot more if we want to beat Navy,” he said.
“But a win is a win, I’ll take it and it helps us as we are now on top of the log. Come the 15th of September, I think that will be the match that decides who will take the crown,” he added.
“We feel anxious, excited and nervous. I think they are great opponents that will drive us to work hard in training for an easier and effective match in the game,” he said.
Wanderers, meanwhile, also collected maximum points after beating Tigers 54-44 on Saturday and Unam Jaguars 45-40 on Sunday. Their match against Tigers was a close affair for most of the match, before Wanderers pulled away in the final quarter. Wanderers were leading 16-15 at the end of the first quarter, while Tigers drew level at 28-all by halftime.
Wanderers, however, upped the tempo to go 42-38 ahead by the third quarter, before sealing a comprehensive 10-point win at the end.
On Sunday, Wanderers took a while to subdue Unam Jaguars, going 10-9 ahead by the end of the first quarter and 24-20 by halftime. Jaguars were still in it when they trailed 34-31 by the end of the third quarter and although they narrowed the deficit to 36-37 in the final quarter, Wanderers finished strongly to complete a five-point win.
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