TORNADOS UNBEATEN RUN UNBLEMISHED FOLLOWING DIAMONDS VICTORY
This morning marked the end of the first weekend of Telkom Netball League action at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria. After a one-month break, twelve games were played in total, and all the teams undoubtedly had something to show. The day’s first match was between the Tornados and Diamonds, and the Western Cape team easily extended their winning streak to five games after defeating the Diamonds 57-38 to remain on top spot in Division Two.
Both teams were able to get into the swing of things right away despite the early morning start to the game and having to ignore the cold weather. The Diamonds were rattled by the Tornados’ defensive storm of pressure, which led to some unforced errors and a five-goal disadvantage in the first quarter. By the end of the second quarter, Tornados Wing Defense Amber Coraizin had recorded three aerial interceptions and two deflections, complicating the Diamonds’ offensive strategy. Andiswa Dlamini and Ninelle Jordaan failed to grab any rebounds despite the ball appearing frequently in the Diamonds shooting circle. Dlamini only succeeded in converting two of the seven opportunities she had in the first thirty minutes, which allowed the opposition to lead 29-16 at half-time.
The Diamonds clearly needed a mid-court substitution and some new energy as they began to build steam again in the third quarter. The Diamonds put on their best performance in the last fifteen minutes, finding space and making effective use of the ball up front. The Tornados, on the other hand, remained consistent the entire game and won the final quarter by two goals to secure a 57-38 victory.
Tornados coach Freda Kemp disclosed their remedy to success, ‘’Our goal was just to be more consistent, covert our center passes and do more percentage netball in the first weekend. I think we were better in Friday’s game than today, so we are going to work hard in making sure that we convert more than eighty percent of our center passes going forward.’’
The day was concluded by the Limpopo derby between the Baobabs and the Lilies. Despite the fact that both teams were from the same hometown, the Baobabs maintained their focus on their ultimate objective and played exciting netball. They rode the momentum throughout all four quarters to score an impressive 67-37 win and move up to second place on the Division Two log standings with eight points, while the Lilies remained at the bottom of the log after losing all six of their games thus far.
The league will resume on Friday, 9 June.
Full Results:
Tornados 57-38 Diamonds
Baobabs 67-37 Lilies
