SASSU/USSA day 2…

UKZN vs. UNW Men

It was a game of two unknowns and the winner would stand a chance to advance to the semi finals. Both teams played an up and down type of reminiscent of the ping pong video game. By the end of the first quarter it was neck and neck with UKZN holding to a lead of 5 points. KZN big man, Thabane Dube had a big game under rim and grabbed most of rebounds and converting with ease.

It was still tied at the mid point of the 2^nd quarter as both teams traded blows. At the end of the half UNW were leading 21-24. If anybody had asked who the eventual winners would be we would have still been waiting for the answer. In the 3^rd UKZN went on a 15-4 run that saw the UNW team drop their heads and start making bad decisions. Everyone would have been excused for thinking that the Sharks were playing when every time the big No 10, Thabang, grabbed a rebound the small UKZN crowd shout BEAST.

UNW did not know what hit them when they looked at the score and they were 15 points down. UKZN capitalised on they unnecessary dribbling of the ball from the UNW no 12 which led to more turnovers. At the whistle for the end of the game UKZN were victorious with a margin that nobody would expect 65-37. This sets an encounter between TUKS and UKZN to determine the eventual qualifiers.

UJ vs. PE College Ladies

With UJ losing to TUKS on Day 1 and the pressure being on last year’s finalists. UJ player their 2-3 Zone and the girls from the Eastern province seemed to find it hard to penetrate the zone and were forced to outside shots. UJ ran the floor very well and converted most of their fast breaks. You could see the intensity on the UJ coach’s face every time UJ missed a lap up or a wide open shot. UJ shooting guard, Lungile, had a brilliant game from beyond the arch was the main catalyst on defence with her aggressive play.

PE College got a minor boost when their No12 started taking a no no-sense approach and decided to take on the UJ defence, but that was that as the shows of brilliance from the PE team was few and far in between. The final score was a clear reflection that their game against TUKS was a minor stumbling block that has proved to be costly to them.

Limpopo vs. DUT Men

Having lost all their games on day one of the tourney, both teams had to put their names up on the log sheet. The competitiveness of this game was immense.Both teams held their own on both ends of the court but one team had to stand out more than the other, this team being DUT. With players like Nkululeko Mthalane who is following in his uncle (Lowel Mndaweni) foot steps, he showed a lot of heart as he was dominating both offensively and defensively. This young man; also captain of the team led his team to victory, putting their name up on the standings log.

On the other side of the court, Vaal had an easy game against UCT and the host team did not really try game up against the defending champs.

By Neo Mothiba

Tags: DUT, TUKS, UJ, UKZN, University of Johannesburg, University of Kwazulu Natal, University of Limpopo, University of North West, University of Pretoria, UNW