Xaba still tops Grand Prix Series
AN UNFORTUNATE error of judgement on the part of five of the lead runners at the halfway point in the penultimate SPAR Women’s Challenge 10km races last Sunday in Pietermaritzburg all but scuppered the hopes of Glenrose Xaba winning the major prize in the Grand Prix for the overall winner of the sixleg series as the Boxer Running Club road runner was disqualified, along with four others.
Fortunately for her she will still go into the last race in Johannesburg on October 7 as the series leader but with her lead cut from 14 points – after winning the second-to-last leg earlier this month in Pretoria – to five points after her disqualification in the Pietermaritzburg race.
Xaba, along with last year’s race winner, Kesa Molotsane (KPMG), Lebogang Phalula (Boxer) and two Lesotho runners, Manorallo Tjoka and Neheng Khtala, were all disqualified on Sunday after the race jury found they had followed the wrong route vehicle and strayed from the course while the race was eventually won by Nedbank runner Irvette van Zyl in a time of 34min 26sec.
She went through the halfway mark in 16:58 followed by Zimbabweans and Nedbank teammates, Rudo Mhonderwa and Rutendo Nyahora.
Xaba earned valuable bonus points from her win in Pretoria and now tops the Grand Prix rankings with 87 points after five races, five points more than her nearest rival, Mhonderwa, who has 82 after finishing in fifth place on Sunday.
Mhonderwa was second in 35:38, Nyahora third in 34:56 and Portia Ngwenya (Nedbank) fourth in 35:16.
The latest Grand Prix log now reads:1 Xaba 87, 2 Mhonderwa 82, 3 Nyahora 78, 4 Molotsane 73, 5 Van Zyl 55, 6 Zintle Xiniwe 52, 7 Patience Murowe 51, 8 Cherise Sims 49, 9 Christine Kalmer 48,10 Maria Shai 46.
Sunday’s confusion saw Nedbank the new club leaders with 416 points with KPMG and Boxer joint second on 332 points each.
The Johannesburg race takes place at Marks Park at 8am on Sunday October 7. IT HAS been a long time coming, since the restart of the professional game in 2013 in fact, but Basketball National League (BNL) is finally returning to Durban next weekend with the Durban Marlins playing host to Eastern Cape Windbreakers, Cape Mountaineers and Northern Cape Zebras in an unusual 1st round format which sees the 10 teams drawn against opponents based on the their 2017 rankings and playing them five times with the top eight teams going through to the next round.
The 2018 BNL season actually got under way last weekend with the first two rounds at Wembley Stadium, the home of local basketball, when the Mountaineers beat the Zebras twice employing a full court press.
Marlins are back to their winning ways and are currently occupying the top spot no doubt mainly due to the return of their charismatic leader Ben Constable from New Zealand who was unavailable last season when his scoring prowess and rebounding finesse were sorely missed.
Others to impress last weekend were national team point guard Thabo Sithole, Kyle Maclean and veteran Craig Gilchrist for his inside play at the ends of the court.
Marlins have a number of veteran players to call upon including Nhlanhla Dlamini, Nkululeko Mthalane and Mxolisi Ndlanya, and several up and coming young players such as flyer Landelani Ngubane and hardman Mbongeni Cele.
So if you are a basketball fan get to the UKZN Westville Sports Centre next weekend where these four teams will be in action on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to determine who goes through to the 2nd round.
There is also a high schools quadrangular tournament being played from 3pm on Friday and from 9am on Saturday featuring DHS, Kearsney College, Maritzburg College and Westville Boys High.
BNL Games
Friday August 31: KZN Marlins v Eastern Cape Windbreakers (6.30pm); Western Cape Mountaineers v Northern Cape Zebras (8.30pm) Saturday September 1: Mountaineers v Zebras (1pm); Marlins v Windbreakers (3pm)
Sunday September 2: Mountaineers v Zebras (12pm); Marlins v Windbreakers (2pm)