There was a funny undertone to the final day of the USSA with the UJ teams feeling like this was their time for some silverware and VUT wanting to claim the title back for the ladies while the guys were trying to defend their 2008 title. I still remember that after last years game in Cape Town, Thabang Kwedi a Vaal player had gone to the UJ coach, Simon Badibanga and said “You will never beat VUT as long as I am playing” so you could feel the tension around the court.
University of Johannesburg vs. Vaal University of Technology – Ladies
VUT started like a house on fire with great inside play from the ladies from Zimbabwe (VUT 4, 14 and 15) and UJ started small to everyone’s surprise in the stands. This played into VUT hands and they had a 10 point run in the first 5 minutes. With 2 minutes left, VUT coach-Zanele Ngwenya took out his starting 5 and played his second unit, which enabled UJ to get back in the game. In hindsight, this looked like a very bad move from VUT coach, Zanele Ngwenya but after looking at the overall game, this move led to UJs key players picking up fouls against the 2nd unit and the VUT starting 5 had enough rest for the rest of the game which helped them wrap things up in the fourth. After speaking to Zanele Ngwenya after the game on his overall thoughts on the game, he said: “I outsmarted the UJ coaches”. Read the rest of this entry →
