Thrilling end to maiden South African women’s basketball tourney

History was made as the first women’s Varsity Basketball tournament took place in South Africa, yet not even the most ardent supporter could have predicted how the championship’s finale would play out.

Last year saw the inaugural men’s Varsity Basketball tournament added to the ever-growing and increasingly diverse Varsity Sports schedule, joining athletics, cricket, football, hockey, mountain-biking, netball, rugby and rugby sevens as the latest annual tournament on the South African Varsity Sports calendar.

And while the country’s eight best university men’s basketball teams battled it out on court for the second year running at the Wits Multi-Purpose Hall in Johannesburg, four women’s university teams formed the inaugural women’s event which took place at the same venue over the first two weeks in October.

Defending men’s champions Wits University came out guns blazing as they took on University of Cape Town in a repeat of the 2018 final in their opening round robin encounter, emerging comfortable 93-74 victors to send an early warning to the opposing sides.

However, they would be humbled 76-69 by the University of Pretoria the following day as Tuks, as University of Pretoria are nicknamed, signalled their tournament intentions. Yet provincial rivals University of Johannesburg would end the first weekend top of the pile after four consecutive victories put them at the summit of the table at the halfway point of the competition.

Week two coincidentally kicked off with a table-topping clash between Tuks and UJ, with the former ending UJ’s perfect record in the tournament at that point with an impressive and hard-fought 73-68 win.

UJ would not slip up again though, winning the rest of their encounters to secure top spot at the end of the round robin phase, with Tuks – who had won five of their seven matches – finishing second, just a point behind. Reigning champions Wits ended third, level on points with Tuks but a position lower due to points difference, and with only the top two teams progressing to the final, narrowly missed out on the opportunity to defend their crown.

As so a new champion was guaranteed as Tuks and UJ took to the Wits Sports Hall court for the 2019 final, complete with television cameras and an expectant crowd in attendance.

Revenge was on the minds of UJ following their round robin phase loss, with Tuks’ seven-point victory in Round 2 a confidence-booster as they bossed proceedings in the opening quarter, taking a narrow 12-9 lead by the end of the first period.

Despite the tight affair, Tuks were able to double that three-point lead to six by half-time, and with just a quarter to go, the lead stood at eight points as UJ stared down the barrel of defeat.

A masterful decision by UJ coach Mandla Ngema with less than five minutes left flipped the script however as a two minute ‘powerplay’ – within which all points scored are doubled – was called, as a highly-charged UJ clawed their way back into the game before then edging in front.

Tuks, in a desperate attempt to regain the lead, opted for three-pointers which often failed to find the mark, gifting UJ the chance to counter-attack and extend their lead, and at the final buzzer, it was orange-clad University of Johannesburg who raised their fists in jubilation, the fightback complete and revenge attained with a well-deserved 64-57 victory.

“I feel a weight off my shoulders, we were the favourites the whole year around and we are a fantastic team. We were dealt a tough hand when we had a lot of injuries, but everyone stepped up and I was proud of those that stepped in, especially Disase Gloire Kabange, who came in from our junior ranks. This also makes me proud because it means the ground work we’ve put in over the years in our whole system has worked well,” said tournament-winning UJ coach Mandla Ngema.

Shifting focus back to the maiden women’s tournament, the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) laid down the gauntlet and were undoubtedly the team to beat as they went undefeated in the round robin phase to secure a smooth passage into the final, where they were joined by North West University (NWU), whose sole defeat was a 65-55 loss to final opponents VUT.

That loss came just a day before the final, and with the stakes sky-high ahead of the final showdown, it was all to play for as the duo took to the courts as NWU sought revenge while VUT were adamant to maintain their unbeaten streak.

There was nothing to choose between the two sides in the opening stages of the finale, the scores deadlocked at 12-12 after the first quarter, yet by half-time, the clinical VUT, as they had been all tournament, shifted up a gear to take a four-point lead at the break.

NWU refused to back down, and by the end of the third quarter, the gap was still just four points heading into the last period. A nail-biting last quarter saw the NWU ladies claw their way back, before a see-saw battle ensued as the clock wound down, and unbelievably, at the sound of the buzzer, the match was tied 58-58, leading to a shootout to determine the first Varsity Basketball women’s champions.

The pressure told as the first six shootout efforts were missed, yet after VUT’s Tsiamo Maswabi sunk her attempt and NWU’s Ipeleng Aphane missed hers, it was the VUT ladies who shrieked with jubilation as they were crowned the very first Varsity basketball victors after a pulsating final.

“Everybody stood up from my team for this tournament,” a proud VUT coach Zanele Ngwenya said after the game. “I was really incredibly proud of the way we went out and stuck to our plans and in the end, they helped us over the line.”

Image credits: Catherine Kotze