NCS on verge of netball league title
By Michael Uugwanga
THE Namibia Correctional Service (NCS) are just one foot away from winning the new edition of the MTC Namibian Netball Premier League (NNPL) following two victories over the past weekend before their second league match of the season against Young Stars in Gobabis this coming Saturday.
NCS defeated high flying club Mighty Gunners 46-43 on Saturday before they crushed a hapless Grootfontein netball club 36-23 the following day in Grootfontein.
NSC are topping the log with 17 points from nine matches played, followed by second placed team Tigers with 16 points, the same number of points as third placed club, Mighty Gunners.
Fourth placed team is the Namibian Navy with 13 points, while in fifth place is Rebels with 10 points, same number of points as Eleven Arrows in sixth position also with 10 points.
NCS is being coached by the country’s most decorated netball coach in Manuel ‘Mansie’ Tjivera, who won numerous Khomas Netball League titles with the University of Namibia (UNAM) netball club.
Tjivera won five titles between 2009 and 2018, while holding two positions, as UNAM coach and that of the national team, the Desert Jewels.
He was coach of the Desert Jewels from 2017 to 2019, and led them to the Debmarine Pent Series success on home soil.
Speaking to Confidente Sport ahead of a crucial encounter against a Young Stars team that has nothing to lose, Tjivera said he was mandated by the club at least to finish second or third in the league.
“The team is capable of winning the league title, but we are taking it game by game. The players have been working extremely hard in training.
We do not play as individuals but as a collective unit.
We are playing Young Stars that have nothing to lose. For us it is just to the win the match. I keep on reminding the players not to get carried away.
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Captain of NCS, Frieda Iindongo remains confident of her team’s chances of winning the title.
“Our performance has been great as we just followed the coach’s plans that he has given us. We play as a team. Definitely we are going to win the league. I am confident that we are going to smash Tigers in our last match, so that we show them that we are the queens of Khomas region,” said Iindongo.
The bottom four teams in the league are Golden Girls in ninth placed with four points, same as 10th placed team Dollar Stars, while United 12 in 11th position have two points and bottom club Rundu Chiefs with zero points.
The bottom three teams will be relegated from the league of which they will be replaced by teams that will win their respective regional leagues.