{"id":31320,"date":"2023-12-12T22:26:41","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T20:26:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=31320"},"modified":"2023-12-12T22:26:41","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T20:26:41","slug":"wp-defuse-kzn-challenge-to-reach-title-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=31320","title":{"rendered":"WP defuse KZN challenge to reach title game"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" With a comfortable 11-5 win over\u00a0Western Province B<\/strong>,\u00a0KwaZulu-Natal A<\/strong>\u00a0set up a semi-final clash against tournament favourites,\u00a0Western Province<\/strong>, on Tuesday evening at the\u00a0Schools Water Polo South Africa Tournament<\/strong>, taking place in\u00a0Gqeberha<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

After going down to\u00a0Central Gauteng A<\/strong>\u00a0in a heavyweight Pool A clash on Monday, the KZN boys knew they would have to go about it the hard way, if they were to lay claim to the inter-provincial title.<\/p>\n

With the stands packed, it was clear that playoff water polo was on the menu. The big question was whether or not Western Province would be ready to raise their game against\u00a0Stef Swart<\/strong>\u00a0and company, who had at least already been through a serious test against Central Gauteng A. Province had played less challenging opposition than the defending champions on their way to top spot in Pool B.<\/p>\n

Very quickly, the answer revealed itself. Western Province A was up for the game and then some.<\/p>\n

They opened the scoring early on, but KZN found a fantastic equaliser through\u00a0Warwick Field<\/strong>. Province, though, controlled possession and moved the ball around nicely to open up a 4-1 lead after the first chukka.<\/p>\n

It looked as if the contest was about to get out of hand for KZN, but credit to\u00a0coach Jason Sileno<\/strong>\u2018s charges, they pulled it back to 4-2. Province scored again, however, but right at the start of the third chukka, KwaZulu-Natal netted another to make it 5-3.<\/p>\n

Province, though, were unphased. Calm and composed, they took everything KZN threw at them, rolled with the punches and came back at them with assured passing and some outstanding finishing. Twice in succession they struck from a man advantage and soon extended their lead to 7-3. There was little chance that KZN could recover from that deficit with only one chukka remaining.<\/p>\n

\"\"They tried manfully, but Western Province did not let up and maintained their structure and intensity up until the final whistle.<\/p>\n

Commenting afterwards,\u00a0Province coach Jabulani Sibiya<\/strong>\u00a0said: \u201cI\u2019m really impressed with the guys. I thought that throughout the tournament we\u2019ve been working hard on upping our intensity. We had a bit of a slow start, but what I really liked about the guys is we trusted the process. We went chukka by chukka, and I think that we managed to leave it all out there, and in the end take the game convincingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the big stage, SACS left-hander,\u00a0Nick Fall<\/strong>, showed big match temperament as he torched KwaZulu-Natal, scoring four times, while also playing an integral role in his side\u2019s sharp ball movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cNick Fall is such a natural talent,\u201d Sibiya said. \u201cWhat I like about our top left shooters is there are a lot of guys who know that they\u2019re good shooters, and they\u2019ve managed to change that into an assisting game, which shows a holistic approach. Everyone is used to them putting the ball in the back of the net, but water polo is more than that. It\u2019s the pass. It\u2019s the distribution. It\u2019s the defence. I think that is what Nick and\u00a0Johannes (Reyneke)<\/strong>\u00a0did really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the back, the lanky and uber-talented\u00a0Jordan de Sousa<\/strong>\u00a0did sterling work in the Province goal, with his centre backs doing an excellent job of making the opposition shoot from distance.<\/p>\n

Summing up his team\u2019s showing, Sibiya concluded: \u201cProvince loves quick release passes, which we did, and I am proud of the guys balancing that with maturity and managing possession when we had the extra man on attack.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s all about balance. When sides are expecting us to do one thing, we show them that we are able to do something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The boys from the Western Cape will face Central Gauteng A for the title after the crew from Johannesburg swamped KwaZulu-Natal B 25-8 in the second semi-final.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no secret about what to expect from Central Gauteng A. They\u2019re going to play an aggressive press defence, and then they\u2019re going to try to launch swift counterattacks when they force turnovers. The opposition know what is coming, but stopping a very physical, fast, fit and skilful Gauteng side has proved beyond any opponent thus far.<\/p>\n

They hit from all angles, and on Tuesday evening they wrenched control of their semi-final from KwaZulu-Natal B in the first chukka and never let up.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a credit to KZN B that they managed to score eight goals because they quickly found themselves trailing 0-6. Of course, Central Gauteng netted 19 times while the KwaZulu-Natalians scored their eight.<\/p>\n

Nicholas Pearce<\/strong>\u00a0tormented KZN B, scoring seven times, while four players \u2013\u00a0Greg Pryce<\/strong>,\u00a0Caleb van Loggerenberg<\/strong>,\u00a0Leonardo Perreira<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Connor Flinn<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 scored three times each.<\/p>\n

It happens, at times, that seemingly inferior teams make finals, but there can be no question that the two best sides will do battle for the title of South African champions in the\u00a0Grey High<\/strong>\u00a0pool at 13:25 on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

KwaZulu-Natal are, at least, assured of third and fourth places, and KZN B, who won a cracking match 11-10 over\u00a0Nelson Mandela Bay<\/strong>\u00a0in the morning to earn a spot in the final four, will return home as the best of the B teams.<\/p>\n

In the day\u2019s first match,\u00a0Central Gauteng B<\/strong>\u00a0outplayed\u00a0Eastern Gauteng<\/strong>\u00a017-4, with\u00a0Ross Stuart<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Jack Wilkins<\/strong>\u00a0scoring five goals each.<\/p>\n

Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eastern Gauteng 4-17 Central Gauteng B<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eastern Gauteng<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Jonathan Viljoen (2), Robert Carr (1), Cole Taylor (1)
\nCentral Gauteng B<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Ross Stuart (5), Jack Wilkins (5) Mark Hudson (3), Marco Turanjanin (2), Brogan McEwan (1)<\/p>\n

KwaZulu-Natal A 11-5 Western Province B<\/strong><\/p>\n

KwaZulu-Natal A<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Mitchell Slade (3), Jamie Spence (2), Stef Swart (2), Warwick Field (2), Jonothan Bregman-Frangos (1), Rhys Hall (1)
\nWestern Province B<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Sebastiaan White (2), Cosmo Enthoven (2), Bradley Warneke (1)<\/p>\n

Nelson Mandela Bay 10-11 KwaZulu-Natal B<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nelson Mandela Bay<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Luke Mallett (4), Jon Hobson (1), Tawfiq Akomolafe (1), Salmaan Abrahams (1), Samuel Marston (1), Daniel de Lange, Luke Lightening (1)
\nKwaZulu-Natal B<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Luca di Vincenzo (4), Blake Kruger (3), Tallin Laas (1), Marnu Koekemoer (1), Kyron de Kock (1), Jared Byleveld (1)<\/p>\n

Western Province A 9-4 KwaZulu-Natal A<\/strong><\/p>\n

Western Province A<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Nicholas Fall (4), Thomas Wiltshire (3), Zack Cicero (1), Maximilian Mossop (1)
\nKwaZulu-Natal A<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Mitchell Slade (2), Matthew Hayes (1), Warwick Field (1)<\/p>\n

Central Gauteng A 25-8 KwaZulu-Natal B<\/strong><\/p>\n

Central Gauteng A<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Nicholas Pearce (7), Greg Pryce (3), Caleb van Loggerenberg (3), Leonardo Perreira (3), Connor Flinn (3), Marc Smith (2), Tristan Grimett (2), Karabo Mamarengane (1), Samuel Lister (1)
\nKwaZulu-Natal B<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Kyron de Kock (2), Luca di Vincenzo (2), Ethan Lyne (1), Blake Kruger (1), Tallin Laas (1), Troy Rees-Jones (1)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a comfortable 11-5 win over\u00a0Western Province B,\u00a0KwaZulu-Natal A\u00a0set up a semi-final clash against tournament favourites,\u00a0Western Province, on Tuesday evening at the\u00a0Schools Water Polo South Africa Tournament, taking place in\u00a0Gqeberha. After going down to\u00a0Central Gauteng A\u00a0in a heavyweight Pool A clash on Monday, the KZN boys knew they would have to go about it the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":31325,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}