Medals Chase Heats Up after Cape Town and Joburg Book Netball Champs Semi-Final Berths
Cape Town and Johannesburg safely booked their semifinal spots, while four teams are still vying for the remaining two places after the conclusion of matches on Day 4 of the Spar National Netball Championships, at Dr EG Jansen High School in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, on Thursday, 4 December 2025.
Those positions will be filled when the rain-postponed matches between Mangaung versus eThekwini and Dr Kenneth Kaunda against Nelson Mandela Bay are contested early on Friday morning, with the semis scheduled for later in the day.
Cape Town wrapped up their flawless round-robin campaign with two more victories on Thursday, first a 49-34 win over Tshwane before a nail-biting 54-51 win over Mangaung.
The Free State side had led for much of the match, reaching the first break 16-10 up and then half-time 29-22 ahead. They kept the pressure on to head into the final break 42-36 up before Cape Town turned the tables in the last quarter, scoring 18 goals to Mangaung’s nine to clinch the three-goal win.
“They are one of the best teams in the country so we knew it was going to be competitive, but they came out with a bang and we had to dig deeper there at the end.”
Cape Town Captain, Sian Moore
“You need games like that… We’ve really been tested in terms of mind, body and attitude, so I think this was great for us because it also showed us again that we can dig deep and regardless of what situation we find ourselves in tomorrow, we have come out on top of it in our journey up until now.”
Cape Town coach Freda Kemp explained afterwards that with her side already having advanced to the semis before the match, she could test out new combinations and a moving circle.
“It gave me the privilege to do that and see if there’s something else I can pull out of the bag if needed.”
Cape Town Coach, Dr Freda Kemp
Johannesburg booked their spot in the final four with a 51-46 win over the team from the North West, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, in the morning, before going on to beat Tshwane 44-40 later in the day.
While they were pushed all the way by the Dr Kenneth Kaunda side, the three-time defending champions’ shooters kept their cool with a 91 per cent shooting average.
“Our shooters have been great throughout the year. We’ve been working really hard on our shooting… they’ve been really good for us.”
Johannesburg coach, Dr Elsjé Jordaan
“It was very intense. We knew that we had to win one of the two today, and I didn’t want to go into the last game of the day having that as a must-win. So, by winning the one this morning, we relieved a lot of pressure.”
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The four teams still fighting for semifinal places are Mangaung, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, eThekwini and Tshwane.
Before their frustrating loss to Cape Town, Mangaung kept themselves in the mix with a 70-40 win over Cape Winelands.
Speaking after the match, captain Reratilwe Letsoalo said: “We had to redeem ourselves [after losing to Tshwane on Wednesday]. But as much as yesterday we had some trouble, we also had some good moments.”
“So, we told ourselves that going into this game, we wanted to use this game to fix our errors,” said Letsoalo, “And also set the momentum that we want to carry through the rest of the tournament.
“It will be an honour to get the opportunity to play a semi and a final. We’re just taking it game by game, and we know our hard work will yield the results that we need.”
Mangaung Captain, Reratilwe Letsoalo
The Kenneth Kaunda side kept alive their semifinal hopes with a 61-34 win over Cape Winelands while eThekwini did the same by beating Nelson Mandela Bay 49-46.
Meanwhile, round-robin play in the under-21 A section wrapped up on Thursday, with the semifinal match-ups now confirmed. Defending champions Johannesburg, who extended their unbeaten run with a 50-29 victory over Cape Town on Thursday, will take on 2023 champions Tshwane before the Dr Kenneth Kaunda side come up against Cape Town.
Senior A Section Results on Thursday, 4 December 2025
Cape Town 49 – 34 Tshwane
Cape Winelands 40 – 70 Mangaung
Johannesburg 51 – 46 Dr Kenneth Kaunda
Nelson Mandela Bay 46 – 49 eThekwini
Mangaung 51 – 54 Cape Town
Dr Kenneth Kaunda 61 – 34 Cape Winelands
Tshwane 40 – 44 Johannesburg
Under-21 A Section
Tshwane 31 – 39 Dr Kenneth Kaunda
Cape Town 29 – 50 Johannesburg
Ekurhuleni 55 – 29 eThekwini
Results on Wednesday, 3 December 2025
Mangaung 63 – 30 Nelson Mandela Bay
Tshwane 47 – 51 Dr Kenneth Kaunda
Cape Town 71 – 38 eThekwini
Johannesburg 71 – 38 Cape Winelands
Dr Kenneth Kaunda 45 – 48 Botswana
Nelson Mandela Bay 56 – 60 Cape Town
Mangaung 43 – 46 Tshwane
eThekwini 47 – 54 Johannesburg
Under-21 A Section
Tshwane 37 – 35 Cape Town
Ekurhuleni 25 – 67 Johannesburg
Dr Kenneth Kaunda 62 – 24 eThekwini
Cape Town 55 – 28 Ekurhuleni
eThekwini 32 – 58 Tshwane
Johannesburg 48 – 42 Dr Kenneth Kaunda
Results on Tuesday, 2 December 2025
Cape Town 67 – 37 Cape Winelands
Tshwane 37 – 41 eThekwini
Johannesburg 44 – 44 Mangaung
Cape Winelands 47 – 46 Nelson Mandela Bay
Dr Kenneth Kaunda 51 – 62 Cape Town
Tshwane 35 – 42 Botswana
Nelson Mandela Bay 37 – 53 Johannesburg
Mangaung 57 – 54 Botswana
eThekwini 32 – 58 Dr Kenneth Kaunda
Under-21 A section
Cape Town 48 – 30 eThekwini
Dr Kenneth Kaunda 52 – 29 Ekurhuleni
Johannesburg 55 – 35 Tshwane
Results on Monday, 1 December 2025
Tshwane 54 – 41 Nelson Mandela Bay
Cape Winelands 37 – 44 eThekwini
Johannesburg 53 – 56 Cape Town
Mangaung 51 – 46 Dr Kenneth Kaunda
Cape Winelands 35 – 53 Tshwane
Cape Town 55 – 39 Botswana
eThekwini vs Mangaung (postponed)
Johannesburg vs Botswana (postponed)
Under-21 A Section
Johannesburg 69 – 17 eThekwini
Tshwane 44 – 29 Ekurhuleni
Dr Kenneth Kaunda 56 – 26 Cape Town
Original Copy: BLD Communications, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: Mangaung, pictured on the way to their win over Cape Winelands, lead the chase, also including Dr Kenneth Kaunda, Tshwane, and eThekwini, all vying for the two final Spar National Netball Champs semifinal spots, after Day 4 in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni in Gauteng, on Thursday, 4 December 2025. All Photos: Reg Caldecott
Photo 2 Caption: Cape Town (pictured) and Johannesburg booked their Spar National Netball Champs semifinal spots after Day 4.
Photo 3 Caption: Johannesburg, with five wins from seven pool stage matches, have also secured their semi-final berth, scheduled for late afternoon on Friday, 5 December.
Crédito: Link de origem