WINDHOEK – The Bank Windhoek Fistball League got off to a thrilling start on Saturday at the SKW fistball fields in Windhoek, with SKW-2 and Cohen FC -3 coming out tops in Category A and B during the league’s pre-season tourney.
SKW 2, led by the evergreen Michael Baas, had a good start by beating stable mates SKW 1 early in the day. They continued their strong run taking down their archrivals, Cohen FC 1, by 29:22 and winning all their games in the preliminary round, which allowed them to qualify for the final.
SKW 1 and Cohen FC 1, placed second and third respectively after the preliminary round, met in a semi-final play-off to determine the second finisher in the Category A cup final. The game proved to be an action-packed affair with SKW 1 having the better start to the game with the combination of spiker Rico Kühnle-Kreitz and setter Stephan Zimny piling up the pressure early to allow SKW 1 to take a six-point lead.
After the break, Cohen FC 1 led by influential spiker Vigo von Scheliha hit back and closed the gap to two points. However, they were not able to take the lead as they had too many unforced errors slipping into the game. In the end, SKW 1 was the deserving winner.
The final on the other hand was a clear-cut affair in favour of SKW 2. Baas and his teammates were in control from the start, while SKW 1 gave the defending champions a decent run for their money in the first set, which SKW 2 won narrowly, while the next two sets were a much clearer affair with SKW 2 taking the honours.
Marc-Andre Witte of SKW 1 had something to celebrate although he was on the losing team. He was named player of the day for his outstanding performance.
In Category B, Cohen FC 3 started the day as the clear favourites. However, they found the going tough against two very motivated SKW teams. SKW 4 was the surprise of the day.
The team consisting of players from SKW’s soccer division managed third place in the preliminary round and qualified for the final after winning against stable mates SKW 3 in a tense semi-final.
Former national fistball player, Arend von Stryk, proved instrumental in the team’s success with his well-placed spikes. SKW 3 however had to play without Stefan Marcuzi who was injured during the match and could not play to his full potential.
The final in this category proved to be a tight affair. SKW 4 surprised Cohen FC 3 by taking the first set by 15:14 points. Cohen FC 3 re-grouped, thanks to a strong defensive effort by brothers Andi and Kalle Minz. The team managed to take the following three sets convincingly to take home the cup.
Earlier in the day, the Fistball Association of Namibia (FAN) received a N$35 000 sponsorship from Bank Windhoek.