NCS are netball champions

Namibia Correctional Services won the MTC Netball Premier League title for the second time in three years after winning their final matches over the weekend. 

They beat Young Stars 48-24 at the Khomasdal courts on Saturday morning, before finishing their campaign off in style with a 48-33 victory against their closest rivals Namibian Navy.

Against Young Stars, they initially received stiff resistance, going 10-6 ahead by the end of the first quarter and 21-10 by halftime.

They continued to stretch their lead, going 31-20 ahead by the third quarter, before completing a commanding 48-24 victory. 

That victory already ensured that they won the title, but they bowed out in style when they beat second-placed Namibian Navy 48-33 later on Saturday afternoon. 

NCS took control from the start of their match against Namibian Navy, going 15-9 ahead by the end of the first quarter, before going 28-16 ahead by the second. 

By the third quarter the result was already a forgone conclusion with NCS leading 38-25, before they closed out a 15-point victory in the final quarter.  

That win saw them finishing four points ahead of Namibian Navy at the top of the log on 40 points, after they won 20 matches and lost only two throughout the season. 

NCS coach Solomon Tuaire who only joined the team at the beginning of the season was ecstatic about winning the league title. 

“I’m elated, I’m very excited, because it’s my first league title as well, with a fairly new team, so I’m ecstatic and I cannot suppress my happiness,” he said. 

“We will now look forward to next season, but I’m sure we now have a target on our backs and everyone is going to gun for us, so I’m sure we need to prepare extra hard if we want to retain the title,” he added. 

Tuaire added that the standard of netball had improved during the season.

“The standard of netball in Namibia has improved a lot, mainly with the structure of play and I think one should compliment Netball Namibia who brought in some international coaches to come and train our local coaches,”he said. 

Mighty Gunners finished third on 34 points after losing their final match 44-36 to Afrocat Lions on Saturday. 

Afrocat led 11-7 by the end of the first quarter, 21-16 by halftime and 32-25 by the third quarter, before closing out an eight-point victory. 

Otjozondjupa Nampol, meanwhile, pipped Wanderers 41-40 in their final match, after coming from behind to claim the victory. Wanderers led 11-8 by the end of the first quarter and 18-17 by the second, but Otjozondjupa upped the tempo to draw level at 29-all by the third, before pulling off a single-point victory. 

That win saw Otjo Nampol and Wanderers both finishing on 30 points, with Otjo Nampol finishing fourth due to a better goal aggregate. 

Afrocat Lions finished sixth on 26 points, while Tigers finished seventh on 24, after beating Young Stars 46-40 on Saturday. 

Young Stars led 11-9 by the end of the first quarter, but Tigers came back to draw level at 21-21 by half time. The sides were still evenly matched in the third quarter with Tigers edging ahead 33-32, but they eventually finished stronger to win the match by six points. 

Rebels and Fatou, meanwhile, finished at the bottom of the log after losing their final matches. 

Rebels lost their final match 45-32 to Northern Fly Ballers, to finish second last on eight points, while Fatou lost 36-31 to Eleven Arrows to finish on zero points after losing all their matches.