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The eighth annual Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA League Johannesburg Finals, organised by the National Basketball Association (NBA) Africa, were contested at Michael Mount Waldorf School in Bryanston, Johannesburg, on Sunday.

In a cool twist, the finalists played in the kits of NBA clubs, with the Soweto Basketball Academy (Phoenix Suns) and Kagiso Basketball Club (Utah Jazz) emerging as the boys’ and girls’ champions

They secured their titles by defeating St. Stithians College (Brooklyn Nets) and the Sandton Hornets (Charlotte Hornets) respectively.

In the boys’ final, the Soweto Basketball Academy toughed it out to defeat Saints 33-26. The Kagiso Basketball Club scored a more clearcut victory in the girls’ final, beating the Sandton Hornets 27-14.

The champion teams produced the event’s leading performers, with Tinyiko Maseko, of the Soweto Basketball Academy, and Omphemetse Gasietsiwe, of the Kagiso Basketball Club, being named the Most Valuable Players.

An All-Star game was also held between the Eastern Conference incorporating the Ekurhuleni Municipality – Benoni, Boksburg, Kempton, Germiston, and Brakpan – and the Western Conference – Sandton, Bryanston, Randburg, Rivonia, and Midrand – which created an opportunity for the top players to strut their stuff.

The Johannesburg Finals brought the curtain down on a season that also included Jnr NBA tournaments in Cape Town, KwaZulu-Natal, and Phokeng, Rustenburg.

“Since its inception in 2016, the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA League Johannesburg has engaged over 1 500 participants from various parts of Johannesburg through league matches and Jr. NBA clinics,” NBA Africa said in a recent press statement.

The founder of the Soweto Basketball Academy, Monwabisi Dlamini, was delighted by his club’s victory. “That was a very humbling and quite exciting feeling, not just for myself, but for the entire academy, mainly because the Junior NBA is one of the first leagues that we contested in our infancy when we started,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus.

“The league has grown to be, in my opinion, the top u14 league in the country, and to be winning such a league where some of the very best teams are playing from all over, is humbling, and it’s an amazing thing to see these kids work. I mean, I’ve got boys who have been working since last year in this championship.

“It’s humbling and amazing to see them achieve what they’ve set out to achieve.

He added: “It makes me confident that these boys, who were playing this weekend, understand what it takes to achieve, not just in basketball, but in life.”

Dlamini also delighted in the fact that the Soweto Basketball Academy had never won the boys’ title before. The club’s girls’ team had previously powered their way to victory for four years in succession.

Reflecting on the season, Dlamini said: “It was a beautiful season. It had its ups and downs, but the boys did very well. And, as an academy, we are extremely proud of them.”

The Jr. NBA Championship title added shine to a memorable year for the Soweto Basketball Academy, with the u18 boys’ team excelling in tournaments throughout 2024 and proving themselves to be one of the premier sides in South Africa in their age group.

It was also a good year for the Soweto Basketball Academy’s girls’ teams, who secured a long list of titles during the year.

U18 Girls

• Soweto Basketball Uprising Tournament
• St Peter’s College Sports and Cultural Basketball Festival
• KBA Warriors Women’s Day Basketball Tournament
• St John’s Basketball League Tournament
• Soweto Youth Basketball League Tournament

U16 Girls

• St Stithians Basketball Tournament
• Gauteng Basketball League
• St John’s Eagles Basketball League

U14 Girls

• Soweto Basketball Uprising Tournament

U18 Boys

• St John’s Eagles Basketball League

U16 Boys

• St John’s Eagles Basketball League
• Jonathan Khumalo Basketball Tournament

U14 boys

• Soweto Basketball Uprising Tournament
• Jr. NBA Johannesburg Finals

Jr. NBA/Jr WNBA Results, Johannesburg

Boys’ Final 

Soweto Basketball Academy (Phoenix Suns) 33-26 St Stithians College (Brooklyn Nets)

Girls’ Final

Kagiso Basketball Club (Utah Jazz) 27-14 Sandton Hornets (Charlotte Hornets)

Boys’ All-Star Game

Western Conference 32 – 31 Eastern Conference

Girls’ All-Star Game

Eastern Conference 12 – 27 Western Conference

King Edward VII School and St David’s Marist Inanda will face off in what promises to be a humdinger of a contest in the Schools SA20 competition at Wits University’s B cricket ground on Friday afternoon.

The teams were supposed to slug it out in two T20 bouts – a Johnny Waite Trophy fixture and a Schools SA20 tie – just four days apart. Unfortunately, the Johnny Waite contest, scheduled for Tuesday, was abandoned due to rain.

Moments before the downpour, Wade McQuinn had given his coach, Vincent Jordaan a reason to smile during KES’s innings. The young all-rounder had smashed a brilliant unbeaten 32-ball 52. Jordaan hopes that the rest of the batting lineup, which failed to provide McQuinn with much support, will be in better form when the sides cross swords on Friday.

“Going up against KES is always a big game for us,” Dave Nosworthy, the St David’s Director of Cricket, said. “They are historically a strong school with many years of good cricket tradition. But we have also put together a good side, so it will be interesting to see how our boys go against a strong KES side. They have done well recently.”

St David’s heads into the tie buoyed by their recent match against Northcliff, in which they bludgeoned 505/4 in 50 overs. The Manack brothers, Morteza and Armaan, starred with the bat, scoring 393 runs between them, which included the twins sharing an outstanding 309-run third-wicket partnership that sunk Northcliff’s hopes. Morteza smashed 226 off 128 balls and Armaan scored a great 167 off 108.

Jordaan’s charges will aim to restrict the freedom the Manack twins enjoyed against Northcliff. KES will aim to keep the St David’s batsmen honest, just as they did when they dismissed Pretoria Boys High for a paltry 92 in their most recent match.

In that contest, Connor Kuijers bagged an outstanding six wickets for 24 runs in 8.3 overs. His healthy haul complemented Tiago Dias’ unbeaten 131 from earlier in the day, which helped KES to a solid 272/5 in 50 overs.

“We have an exciting young squad and have trust in our skills and our abilities as a unit and have specific plans against certain batters and know how to attack certain bowlers,” Jordaan shared.

Jordaan said while his charges will endeavour to not give their opposition an inch on the field, the most important thing for him and his team is that they represent the KES brand properly.

Mamelodi Sundowns’ u14 and u16 ladies’ teams made history on the weekend by securing the Gauteng Women’s Development League (GWDL) titles without a single defeat, having played a total of 24 matches each in the GWDL’s 2024 season.

They concluded their season’s playing commitments at Panorama FC, where their supporters watched them receive the champions’ trophies

In the inaugural season of the GWDL, 2023, the competition was played in the u15 age group. This season it was expanded and changed to the u14 and u16 age groups, but the outcomes were the same, with Sundowns going unbeaten through both campaigns to match their unbeaten 2023 season.

Sundowns’ u14 side scored 22 wins and were held to only two draws. They enjoyed an astonishing positive goal difference of 94 after netting 99 times while conceding just five goals. They finished the season with 68 points, only four shy of the maximum possible, and were 12 points clear of the runner-up, JVW FC.

The u16 Sundowns’ team scored one more win than their u14 counterparts, accruing 70 points from 23 victories and a single draw against JVW. They scored 83 times and gave up only six goals.

In the final fixtures of the season at Panorama, the Sundowns u14 team faced Tornado Ladies FC, intent on keeping their undefeated record intact. As anticipated, the Brazilians delivered a champion’s performance, winning the game 2-0.

The u16 side completed their campaign with a 1-0 win over Highlands Park. It was a season to forget for The Lions of the North. After finishing in the top four in 2023, they wound up bottom of the standings in 2024.

In another thrilling GWDL clash, JVW and Remember Elite Sport Academy (Resa), delivered an exciting 2-2 draw. Chantel Chambala, of JVW, scored two goals, while Thuto Rathebe and Kearebetswe Mainama netted for Resa, who fell 1-2 to Kenneth FC in their other game on the weekend. JVW outplayed Edenvale in their second outing, winning 4-0.

Refilwe FC experienced mixed results. They suffered a 0-2 defeat to the hosts, Panorama FC, but ended their season with a comfortable 3-0 win over Origin FC.

Panorama also beat Origin, cruising to a 4-0 victory, but fell to Kenneth in their third game, losing 1-2.

U14 Results

Mamelodi Sundowns 2-0 Tornado Ladies FC

U16 Results

JVW FC 2-2 Remember Elite Sport Academy
Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 Highlands Park FC
Panorama FC 2-0 Refilwe FC
Refilwe FC 3-0 Origin FC
JVW 4-0 Edenvale
Kenneth FC 2-1 Remember Elite Sport Academy
Kenneth FC 2-1 Panorama FC
Panorama 4-0 Origin FC
Panorama FC 2-0 Refilwe FC

u14 GWDL final log table 

Club	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Mamelodi Sundowns	24	23	1	0	83	6	77	70
Tuks	24	18	2	4	50	18	32	56
Panorama FC	24	16	5	3	52	14	38	53
RESA	24	16	2	6	41	17	24	50
JVW FC	24	12	6	6	29	18	11	42
Refilwe FC	24	12	2	10	40	26	14	38
Kempton Park FC	24	9	7	8	24	22	2	34
Origin FC	24	9	4	11	26	35	-9	31
Edenvale FC	24	9	0	15	23	73	-53	27
Tornado Ladies	24	6	5	13	17	32	-15	23
Kenneth FC	24	3	5	16	8	46	-38	14
Highlands Park	24	0	4	20	0	40	-40	4

u16 GWDL final log table 

Club	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Mamelodi Sundowns	24	22	2	0	99	5	94	68
JVW FC	24	17	5	2	73	15	58	56
Tuks	24	17	3	4	47	14	33	54
RESA	24	16	2	6	55	21	34	50
Panorama FC	24	13	4	7	44	21	23	43
Kempton Park FC	24	10	4	10	37	33	4	34
Highlands Park FC	24	9	4	11	33	40	-7	31
Tornado FC	24	9	4	11	24	38	-14	31
Kenneth FC	24	8	4	12	29	38	-9	28
Refilwe FC	24	5	5	14	14	50	-36	20
Origin FC	24	4	4	16	16	49	-33	16
Edenvale FC	24	5	1	18	17	93	-76	16

 

Reddam House Bedfordview and St Stithians College staged a repeat of last weekend’s Parktown Spring Sports Festival on Saturday when they met in the final of the Roedean Prestige Cup in Johannesburg. 

On 5 October, at Parktown, an intense final ended 4-4. Then, Saints snatched the title with a 3-1 victory following a penalty shootout.

Coach Kyla Moolman’s St Stithians side made light work of their first four opponents at the Spring Sports Festival. They brushed aside St Mary’s Waverley 7-3 and handed Kingsmead a 4-1 loss. They were, then, ruthless in wins over Parktown High School for Girls and Pretoria High School for Girls, winning those games 12-1 and 13-0 respectively.

On day two of the tournament, the final day, Saints downed Steyn City School 16-3 before scraping an 8-7 win over St Dominic’s. Then, they fell to Reddam House Bedfordview, going down 5-12, but they reversed that result in the final.

After securing the title, St Stithians’ captain Tori Tanner-Ellis said they were happy with the win. “The final was a very exciting and tough match as Reddam House Bedfordview is a very tough team,” she told SuperSport Schools Plus. “The team and I are very happy with our outcome and cannot wait for the rest of the season.”

On Saturday, the tables were turned as Reddam House Bedfordview claimed the honours at Roedean. They and Saints were, again, the class of the field, demonstrating good skills and teamwork to book their places in the title-deciding matchup, which featured surges of momentum from both sides as fortunes waxed and waned.

Reddam bolted out of the starting gate, netting the first two goals only a few minutes into the final. St Stithians, stunned for a moment, quickly struck back and soon made it 2-2. They were suddenly on fire and by the end of the first chukka they had surged into a 4-2 lead.

By halftime, Saints appeared to be on their way to another title, having scored five times without reply to lead 5-2. Soon after the restart, they netted for a sixth time.

Reddam was far from done, however, and they pulled back three goals, without reply, to trail only 5-6 with another quarter to go.

Another two goals from Reddam in the last chukka pushed them ahead of Saints once more and they held on for a narrow and hard-fought 7-6 win to clinch the Roedean Prestige Cup.

Roedean finished third but was satisfied that other goals besides winning the title were met.

“The primary aim of the competition is not so much rooted in sporting success- the aim is to drive community development and partnerships,” the school said. “We continue to ensure that the tournament is positioned as one of the best water polo tournaments hosted in Gauteng and has a proven sustainable impact on both sports’ transformation and water safety.”

STANDINGS
1.  Reddam House Bedfordview
2. St Stithians College
3. Roedean School South Africa
4. St Dominic’s Boksburg

Morteza Manack smashed his way into the record books as he led St David’s Marist Inanda to an incredible 222-run victory over Northcliff when the two sides met on Saturday.

Manack was in imperious form, carving 32 fours and eight sixes in his school record-setting 226 off 128 deliveries.

The middle-order batsman’s tally of fours was just one less than the number scored by the entire Northcliff batting line-up. With his inspired knock leading the way, St David’s posted a massive 505/4, their highest total yet in limited-overs cricket.

His 226 also eclipsed the previous individual best set by Armaan Manack, his twin brother, who scored a fluent 174 against St Alban’s in February.

Northcliff had little chance of chasing down that total, and even though they mustered 283/8 in their 50 overs, they were still well over 200 runs short of the St David’s total.

Manack joined his twin brother, Armaan, in the 10th over after two batsmen had departed in two balls. St David’s needed a partnership that would consolidate their innings and set them up for a big finish in their final 10 overs. The Manack twins achieved far more than that.

The pair shared an incredible 309-run third-wicket stand, the highest St David’s partnership ever in limited-overs cricket. The brothers spent only 29.5 overs together, but they were brutal and relentless on the Northcliff bowlers and fielders, who were made to chase leather.

Their outstanding partnership ended when Armaan was dismissed after scoring a brilliant 167 from 108 deliveries. His knock, which featured 24 fours and two sixes, highlighted why he was the previous record holder for the highest individual score by a St David’s batsman.

Morteza Manack batted until the 49th over, by which time he had also shared a 100-run fourth-wicket partnership with Kamogelo Phiri (41*), which left St David’s on 489.

Only Oliver Vermaak, among the Northcliff bowlers, returned a respectable economy rate of 6.75 from eight overs. The rest of the bowlers went for over eight runs an over, with Reaal Harriam, who picked up a five-for for the Lions Invitational side against high-flying Waterkloof in the Fasken Time Cricket Festival, suffering the most and conceding 13.33 runs an over.

Alexander West‘s century, 102 runs from 90 balls, with 12 fours and a six, good innings that it was, wasn’t enough to help Northcliff mount a challenge to St David’s sensational outing with the bat.

The game was already out of Northcliff’s reach when West arrived at the crease in the 14th over. They had lost three wickets to good bowling from Hayden Campbell and Christopher Emslie and had only 47 runs on the board.

Besides West, Cade Bradley was the other bright spark in Northcliff’s vain run chase. He struck a commendable unbeaten 80 off 66 deliveries and shared a 149-run sixth-wicket partnership with West, the highest of Northcliff’s innings.

Hayden Campbell was the pick of the bowlers for St David’s with two wickets for 20 runs in five overs. Christopher Emslie and Shaiyen Desai also bagged a brace each. Jason Rowles chipped in with a single wicket.

Summarised Scorecard: 

St David’s Marist 505/4 (Morteza Manack 226, Armaan Manack 167; Alexander West 2/67, Jack Woolard 1/42); Northcliff  283/8 (Alexander West 102, Cade Bailey 80; Hayden Campbell 2/20, Christopher Emslie 2/26). St David’s Marist won by 222 runs.

Lesedi Mabena‘s astounding double-century helped power Prestige College to a breathtaking 388 without the loss of a wicket in their second outing of the Schools SA 20 competition.

Relive all the action on SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)

Striking at a rate of 254 runs per 100 balls, the Prestige College captain lit up his home field, blasting a memorable unbeaten 209 on a historic day for the side from Hammanskraal in their game against an overmatched Hoërskool Akasia on 9 October.

Mabena needed only 82 balls to reach his historic total. The opening batsman sent almost half the balls he faced to the boundary, hitting 30 fours and depositing eight deliveries clean over the boundary.

His opening partner, Thabang Kutumela, wasn’t about to let the skipper go wild by himself. Kutemala, too, batted wonderfully, scoring briskly to finish with 130 not out from just 59 deliveries. He also obliterated the Akasia bowlers, smashing 21 fours and four sixes.

Akasia faced a massive mountain in their run chase, but rain led to the target being revised to 105. Their problem was they needed to score those runs in only five overs.

Mabena, again, proved to be a problem as he snapped up two wickets for three runs in seven balls. Akasia was unable to mount a challenge and they were held to just 19/4 as Prestige claimed a spectacular 85-run victory on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method.

Their emphatic win came after Prestige College opened its account against a spirited Atteridgeville Hub side on 2 October with a narrow three-wicket victory.

A gutsy 37* from Atteridgeville’s Kholofelo Mogashwa helped the home side post what appeared to be a sub-standard 114/8 in their 20 overs. It might have looked a little light, but the victory target of 115 proved to be challenging.

A return of 3/26 from Boikanyo Makhubela had Prestige faltering on 80/5 at one stage. Mohau Mahlangu remained calm, however, and his 21, along with 18 from Thabang Kutumela, was enough to see the Hammanskraal school to the win with only five balls in hand.

Summarised scorecards

Prestige College 388/0 (Lesedi Mabena 209*, Thabang Kutumela 130*); Hoërskool Akasia 19/4 (Sbongiseni Gumede 13; Lesedi Mabena 2/3). Prestige College won by 85 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method.

Atteridgeville Hub 114/8 (Kholofelo Mogashwa 37*; Extras 35; Keamogetswe Semenya 2/12, Omphile Maredi 2/22); Prestige College 116/7 (Mohau Mahlangu 21; Boikanyo Makhubela 3/26). Prestige College won by three wickets.

A big partnership of 125 between St Benedict’s College‘s Cayden Thompson and Clayton Horlick was enough to see them through to the final of the Easterns’ leg of the Schools SA 20.

Relive all the action on SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)

Bennies made light work of a 166-run target set by Hoërskool Marais Viljoen thanks to some exquisite batting from the pair.

Playing a curtain raiser to the CSA T20 knockout match between the Eastern Storm and AET Tuskers at Willowmoore Park on Saturday morning, St Benedict’s won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Taking early wickets was viewed as a key to beating Marais Viljoen, but the side from Bedfordview didn’t quite get off to the start they had hoped for.

They battled through the first six overs with the Alberton school’s openers, Abdullah Tadwalla and Tiaan Hall doing a good job. Tadwalla was the first to be sent packing, dismissed off the last ball of the sixth over for a well-played 41 from only 26 balls.

Hall departed soon after that for 17 runs and the Bennies’ bowlers went to work, claiming four wickets for 57 runs in a good effort through the middle overs, led by their opening bowler, Clayton Horlick. After 14 overs, the match was finely poised with Marais Viljoen on 115/5.

Jordann Lategan boosted his side’s batting effort as their overs run down, playing a little gem of an innings to contribute 33 from just 23 deliveries. His knock helped the Alberton boys to 165/6, which was a challenging target on a slow wicket.

Bennies, though, weren’t at all fazed by the pace of the pitch. Both Thompson and Horlick batted at strike rates exceeding 120 and delivered half-centuries to steer St Benedict’s successful pursuit of 166.

Thompson top scored with an unbeaten 63 from 50 deliveries, while Horlick blitzed 62 from 42 balls, launching three deliveries for six and another three for fours before he lost his wicket to Marco Hoffman (1/16) at the start of the 16th over. The damage had, however, already been done and Bennies rolled to an eight-wicket victory with seven balls to spare.

Summarised scorecard 

Marais Viljoen 165/6 (Abdullah Tadwalla 41, Jordann Lategan 33*; Clayton Horlick 1/23); St Benedict’s College 166/2 (Cayden Thompson 63*, Clayton Horlick 62; Marco Hoffman 1/16).

St Benedict’s College won by eight wickets.

Hoërskool Kempton Park, one of the favourites to make the final of the Easterns’ leg of the Schools SA20, lived up to expectations after a well-rounded run-chase in their semi-final showdown against Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen.

Relive all the action on Supersport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)

The teams did battle at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Sunday, where Kempies booked their spot in the final with a five-wicket win.

Sheldon Kruger, batting at three for Kempton Park, led their run chase expertly with a composed and mature innings.

He took just 58 deliveries to make 89, which included eight fours and the only four sixes in the Kempies’ innings. That effort was the key batting contribution as Kempton Park chased down 156 on a low and slow pitch.

Kruger received good support from Ethan Kotze after Kotze had lost his opening partner, the in-form Wian Pieters, to a run out in the third over for only four. Kotze settled in and struck four boundaries in a useful 27 from just 22 balls.

The Jansies bowled well. There wasn’t much to write home about in the wickets column, but they built pressure by adhering to tight line and length bowling.

While Pieters was kept quiet on the batting front, he had something to say with the ball, snapping up 2/24 in four overs. Shaun Nash bowled well, too, claiming two scalps while conceding 19 runs from three overs.

Jayden Barnes anchored EG Jansen’s innings with a mature captain’s knock of 53 from 46 balls, which featured nine deliveries that were dispatched to the boundary. JH Coetzee weighed in with 32, and Declan Pagel added a hasty 29 from only 14 deliveries.

Having wickets in hand is an important factor towards the end of T20 matches and Kempton Park did a good job of managing their wickets and the pace of their response, eventually securing victory with two balls to spare.

They’ll face a tough challenge from another of the region’s favourites, St Benedict’s College, in the final on 18 October.

Summarised scorecard

EG Jansen 155/7 (Jayden Barnes 53, JH Coetzee 32, Decan Pagel 29; Shaun Nash 2/19, Wian Pieters 2/24); Hoërskool Kempton Park 156/5 (Sheldon Kruger 89, Ethan Kotze 27; Jayden van Wyk 1/31). Hoërskool Kempton Park won by five wickets.

The champions of the Siyabonga Nomvethe Schools Cup were crowned on Saturday in Durban

In the u19 division of the competition, which featured teams from KwaZulu-Natal, the winners, Edendale Technical High School received a prize of R20 000, gold medals, and a new soccer kit, while the runners-up, Mningi High School, received silver medals and a soccer kit.

The final went to a penalty shootout after the teams played to a 1-1 draw in regulation time. Edendale, then, triumphed 5-3 from the spot.

There was some consolation for Mningi when their Simangaliso Mbuyazi claimed the top goal scorer award and was also named the player of the tournament. Edendale’s Luyanda Zulu, aged 16, received recognition as the youngest player.

The tournament was broadcast live by SuperSport Schools on the SuperSport Schools App and online.

Siyabonga Nomvethe, who played professionally from 1997 to 2020 and earned 81 caps for South Africa, said the tournament is a collaborative effort involving the Siyabonga Nomvethe Foundation, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, and the Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture (DSAC).

Thami Mchunu, the President of the KwaZulu-Natal Sports Confederation, attended the final at the Hoy Park Sports Complex and, in a press statement, said: “I hope this tournament will change many lives. I want to see another Nomvethe emerge from KZN.”

Nomvethe, the Tournament Director, whose club career included stints with, among others, Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, and AmaZulu, as well as Italian teams Udinese, Salernitana, and Empoli, emphasised his commitment to identifying and nurturing emerging talent through the Siyabonga Nomvethe Foundation. He said the initiative was designed to foster youth development and contribute positively to the KwaZulu Natal community.

“I know for sure another Nomvethe will come from this tournament. I can attest that the talent is big here,” he told the schools at the awards ceremony.

“I played in Italy, Sweden, and Denmark. You can do the same, and you have what it takes to follow in my footsteps.”

He encouraged corporate sponsors to support the tournament’s growth and expansion., saying: “I would like to see sponsors come on board to back us up because we have started growing in KZN and we want to go nationwide.”

Nomvethe ended by saying it had been a family effort putting the event together. “I want to thank my family for working together – my two children, my wife, and my sisters, as well as family friends – who supported this tournament. Working together made it successful.”

It was a weekend to savour for two Makhanda powerhouses as St Andrew’s College and DSG Makhanda claimed top honours at the Woodridge Stayers Water Polo Tournament in Thornhill on the weekend.

St Andrew’s defeated Selborne College 6-5 in the boys’ final, while DSG thumped their Makhanda rivals, Kingswood College, 5-0 in the girls’ final.

St Andrew’s was dominant from the get-go in Pool B, comfortably winning their three matches, beating Glenwood House 11-2, East London’s Merrifield College 12-2, and Bridgehouse 27-0.

In the quarterfinals, they came up against Gqeberha’s Pearson High School and made light work of them, scoring 13 times while conceding once, before edging out Gqeberha’s Grey High School 7-5 in the semifinals.

On the final day, they came up against the defending champions, Selborne College. There was little to separate the sides, but St Andrew’s eventually edged out their East London opposition by a single goal.

“We are very excited to come away with the win,” St Andrew’s head coach, Grant McKenzie, told SuperSport Schools Plus after the tournament.

“Our preparation was not what we wanted it to be with the holidays in between. I was very happy with the team’s overall performance and it was a good way to start our new season. We do, however, have lots of work to still put in.

“This was the start of a new season, with a new team, so positive starts are always important. The bar has been set for the rest of the season, and we are going to have to put in extra effort to stay competitive across the country,” he added.

The next big challenge for McKenzie and his troops will be against top teams from throughout South Africa in Johannesburg.

“The team has had a very inclusive approach for all the new boys that have joined us,” he said. “We have the St Stithians Stayers Tournament coming up, which is also a tough tournament. We have two weeks to prepare and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

The girls’ final was contested between traditional rivals, with DSG Makhanda facing Kingswood College for the title.

DSG posted an emphatic victory, scoring five times without conceding to close off the tournament on a high. They also recorded wins over Merrifield College, Somerset College, Glenwood House, and Pearson High.

In the semi-finals, they faced a tough challenge from Clarendon School for Girls. They had gone down to Clarendon in a pool stage clash but with a place in the title decider on the line they ran out 6-3 winners.

Winning the title also secured DSG a slice of history as they became the first winners of the girls’ title, which was introduced this year with 12 teams competing for it.

Reacting to the win, head coach Julia Gaybba said: “The DSG water polo girls have worked hard to get to this point and we have started the season off well with a bronze medal at the MacKenzie Cup and now with gold at the Woodridge Stayers.”

“I feel that the girls are improving with each game we play, but there are always things we can work on.”

“Hopefully, everything will come together at the St Stithians Tournament,” she added.