Relaxed Gauteng gear up for final
VAN DYK: COACH RESTS STARS AHEAD OF SHOWDOWN Squad to take it easy with a trip to the beach.
Gauteng remained unbeaten at the end of the round-robin section of the Spar National Netball Championships at Hoy Park with a 45-25 victory over Mpumalanga yesterday.
The match against one of the weaker teams gave Gauteng coach Jenny van Dyk the opportunity to give some of her bench players a run and to rest players ahead of the final against defending champions Western Cape today. The match was by no means a walkover as the Mpumalanga defence was tight and the Gauteng shooters had to fight hard.
Van Dyk said afterwards she was pleased with the way the tournament had progressed and the match had been a good workout ahead of the final.
“We’ve been preparing for the final since day one, working on tactics and strategies,” she said.
“I took pages of notes during our match against Western Cape yesterday, and we will spend some time analysing where we did not execute our game plan. But it will all depend on the quality of decision-making on the court tomorrow. I can do as much as I can to prepare them, but it is down to the players on the court.”
Western Cape breezed past Northern Cape, beating them 6912. “It was a nice relaxed game, and we are going to relax today,” said coach Annelie Lucas.
“The girls are going to the beach this afternoon – they are not going to think about netball. They know what they have to do tomorrow and I have a few options up my sleeve.”
North West routed Eastern Cape 57-15 to finish the tournament in fourth position, while last year’s finalists Free State beat KwaZulu Natal 50-39.
The girls from Bloemfontein clinched the bronze medal when they beat North West 35-28 on Thursday. – Own Correspondent