{"id":31686,"date":"2023-12-13T20:21:12","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T18:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=31686"},"modified":"2023-12-13T20:21:12","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T18:21:12","slug":"western-province-boys-crowned-champs-after-nail-biting-shootout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=31686","title":{"rendered":"Western Province boys crowned champs after nail-biting shootout"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Sometimes finals disappoint and sometimes they thrill. The showdown between\u00a0Western Province A<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Central Gauteng A<\/strong> in the boys\u2019 u19 title decider at the\u00a0Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament<\/strong>\u00a0in\u00a0Gqeberha<\/strong>\u00a0on Wednesday was very much a case of the latter, and then it was dialled up to 11.<\/p>\n

It was a catch-your-breath, thrill-a-minute battle between two skilful, hard-nosed, never-say-die opponents, with neither prepared to give an inch in the\u00a0Grey High School<\/strong>\u00a0pool. It delivered on drama in bucketloads.<\/p>\n

In the early going, Central Gauteng net-minder\u00a0Ben Scher<\/strong>, who was sensational in his side\u2019s semi-final win over KwaZulu-Natal A the previous day, looked as if he would do the same to the Capetonians, pulling off a string of sensational stops to help his side nose ahead.<\/p>\n

The teams went blow-for-blow, but with one chukka to play, it was 8-6 in favour of Central Gauteng, the defending champions. But Province kept at their opponents and managed to reduce the deficit to a single goal when the boys from the Johannesburg region suffered an exclusion.<\/p>\n

Still, though, Central Gauteng clung with all their might to the lead. With only 30 seconds remaining, Province coach\u00a0Jabz Sibiya<\/strong> called a timeout. What does a coach tell his side to do in such a situation? Sibiya shared: \u201cWe took a page out of the Croatian handbook. We sent all seven up for a seven-on-six. We told them that the hole is going to come either in the middle or on the left, and the hole showed itself and we scored!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"When the ball crossed the line, only 14 seconds remained in the game. So, the contest went to a penalty shootout.<\/p>\n

Scher, in the Central Gauteng goal, made a stop first up, but De Sousa responded for Western Province by rejecting the opposition\u2019s second-round effort. After the five players selected for the shootout had taken their penalties, it was 4-4. The final then moved to a sudden death format. The first to score and save would win.<\/p>\n

The game wasn\u2019t decided quickly. Scher, who had almost seemed to be a mind-reader at times, was suddenly being sent the wrong way, and De Sousa, all six-foot-nine of him, couldn\u2019t keep the Central Gauteng boys from scoring.<\/p>\n

Eventually, with Western Province 8-7 up from the spot. De Sousa pulled off the match-winning save, and it was over. Behind his goal, the Province supporters erupted. Central Gauteng\u2019s wholehearted challenge had finally been ended.<\/p>\n

After taking the victors\u2019 customary swim, coach Sibiya laughed happily, saying his charges\u2019 victory had taken three years off his life span.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Jabz Sibiya, Western Province\u2019s coach jumps into the Grey High pool to celebrate his side\u2019s heart-stopping victory over Central Gauteng A.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt was extremely stressful. The guys have done it before,\u201d he said about the shootout. \u201cWe knew it would come down to a showdown of the goalkeepers because they are really talented. At the end of the day, Jordy [de Sousa] managed to get that last save.<\/p>\n

It was a gutsy victory. For all the skill and marvellous teamwork, what impressed most about both sides was their heart. Their all-out work rate was phenomenal and the manner in which both sets of players dealt with the pressure was extraordinary. As it ratcheted up, it seemed that one of the teams would surely crack under the strain, but they never did. They lapped it up and took the game back to the opposition.<\/p>\n

Sibiya said Western Province\u2019s experience of finals helped their cause immensely: \u201cIf you look at the split of players that we have in our side, there are some Paul Roos guys, there are some SACS guys, who have been in finals together, and against each other, over the years. Some Rondebosch guys, too, who have been in finals, also.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is something that we are used to, and I think that it was out of habit how the boys really stuck to their game. They showed character, and because they had been through it before it was something that they showed right through the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also recognised that Central Gauteng A had brought plenty to an engrossing contest: \u201cCentral Gauteng are coached by a legend, \u2018Nacho\u2019 [Jon-Marc de Carvalho<\/strong>], who I really look up to. When I was in school playing, he was coaching,\u201d Sibiya said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCredit to them, they have worked hard. They\u2019re a very skilful side. We knew it was going to take a lot to beat them, and they were beating us in some moments of that game. Big credit to them. It came down to the wire, and it worked out for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The key to the Western Province victory was dealing with Central Gauteng\u2019s physical and aggressive defence. \u201cWe knew they were going to give us a tight press. We knew they were going to back their centre-backs, Greg Pryce<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Karabo Mamaregane<\/strong>. We had to match them with our captain,\u00a0Noah Bigara<\/strong>, and I guess he was winning that argument in the first chapter of the game,\u201d Sibiya said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also knew that we hadn\u2019t been that successful on our tight press, so we went with our tried and tested 4-2 zone, which comes from the heart of the Western Cape. It gives us a transition the other way, and it\u2019s in the DNA of Western Province polo, which is counterattacking polo.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bronze medal went the way of\u00a0KwaZulu-Natal A<\/strong>, who beat\u00a0KwaZulu-Natal B<\/strong>\u00a017-5 in the playoff for third, with\u00a0Ollie Ditz<\/strong>\u00a0going off for six goals for the victors.\u00a0Mitchell Slade<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Rhys Hall<\/strong>\u00a0weighed in with hattricks, too, while\u00a0Marnu Koekemoer<\/strong>\u00a0led the B side with two goals.<\/p>\n

Buffalo City<\/strong>\u00a0ended on a high by edging out\u00a0Western Province B<\/strong> for fifth place in a penalty shootout after a low-scoring clash had ended 5-5. Province were stymied from the spot, failing to score once, as the team from East London took it 3-0.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Northern Tigers<\/strong>\u00a0showed marked improvement over the course of the tournament, but they didn\u2019t have enough to halt\u00a0Nelson Mandela Bay<\/strong>\u00a0in their last outing, going down 4-7, which left the hosts in seventh.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe<\/strong>\u00a0ended their tournament with a defeat against\u00a0Central Gauteng B<\/strong>, who ran out convincing 15-5 winners to place ninth.<\/p>\n

Final Standings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Western Province A
\nCentral Gauteng A
\nKwaZulu-Natal A
\nKwaZulu-Natal B
\nBuffalo City
\nWestern Province B
\nNelson Mandela Bay
\nNorthern Tigers
\nCentral Gauteng B
\nZimbabwe
\nEastern Gauteng<\/p>\n

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

9th\/10th: Zimbabwe 5-15 Central Gauteng B<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zimbabwe<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Garrick Duff (2), Michael Chaniwa (2), Samuel Edwards
\nCentral Gauteng B\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Jack Wilkins (6), Brogan McEwan (2), Zico Williams (2), Max Turanjanin, Ross Stuart, Samuel Ferreira, Mark Hudson, Braedon Hollingworth<\/p>\n

7th\/8th: Northern Tigers 4-7 Nelson Mandela Bay<\/strong><\/p>\n

Northern Tigers\u00a0\u2013 Ruben Steyn, Jack Toich, Alexander Kelbrick, Joshua Verster
\nNelson Mandela Bay\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Tawfiq Akomolafe (2), Salmaan Abrahams, Nicholas Franklin, Daniel de Lange, Luke Moffett, Jon Hobson<\/p>\n

5th\/6th: Western Province B 5 (0) \u2013 Buffalo City 5 (3)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Western Province B\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Mac Lecuona (2), Cosmo Enthoven, Ziggy Reimer, Aden Da Costa
\nBuffalo City\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Keiron Roux (2), Sandon Grotjohn, Philip Wagner, Daniel Breetzke<\/p>\n

3rd\/4th: KwaZulu-Natal A 17-5 KwaZulu-Natal B<\/strong><\/p>\n

KwaZulu-Natal A<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Ollie Ditz (6), Rhys Hall (3), Mitchell Slade (3), Jamie Spence (2), Matthew Hayes (2), Warwick Field
\nKwaZulu-Natal B<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Marnu Koekemoer (2), Ethan Lyne, Blake Kruger, Jack Slater<\/p>\n

1st\/2nd: Western Province A 8 (8) \u2013 Central Gauteng A 8 (7)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Western Province A<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Maximilian Mossop (2), Ethan Klerck (2), Ben Reiback, Conor Melling-Williams, Noah Bigara, Thomas Wiltshire
\nCentral Gauteng A\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Nicholas Pearce (3), Tristan Grimett, Karabo Mamaregane, Marc Smith, Taeg Mosehla<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes finals disappoint and sometimes they thrill. The showdown between\u00a0Western Province A\u00a0and\u00a0Central Gauteng A in the boys\u2019 u19 title decider at the\u00a0Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament\u00a0in\u00a0Gqeberha\u00a0on Wednesday was very much a case of the latter, and then it was dialled up to 11. It was a catch-your-breath, thrill-a-minute battle between two skilful, hard-nosed, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":31690,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31686","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\/31686","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=31686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}