WINDHOEK – Championship favourites SKW1 and Cohen FC3 took the honours in the Bank Windhoek National Fistball leagues after the finals were concluded at the DTS sports ground in Windhoek last weekend.
SKW 1 retained the National A league title with a 5:1 win over club mates, SKW2. Fielding a strong defensive line-up, consisting of Michael Zimny, Sven Wiedenroth and Stefan Grögli, the Imawida first team were clear favourites going into the match but somehow endured a hard time against their less favoured opponents.
Led by national team captain, Christoph Kubirske, Imawida’s second strings kept things close in the first set – only losing by 11:9 points, before leveling the score at 1:1 sets. SKW 1 found their rhythm and took the next four sets to finish atop of the championship. Third place went to Cohen FC 1 who had an intense play-off for 3rd place against SFC1, emerging the victors on 4:3 sets.
The National B league trophy remained firmly in the hands of Cohen FC 3 for the 4th consecutive year, by beating neighbours SKW 3 in a one-sided final by 5:0 sets.
Although the Germans strengthened their attack with the inclusion of Shaun Smith, they were no match for the more experienced Cohen FC 3 team. Smith had earlier helped SKW 3 into the final with his strong serves by winning the qualifying game for the final 4:2 against DTS.
The season ended well for SFC 2. After spending most of the season at the bottom of the table, the seasiders clinched 3rd place by beating DTS for the 3rd place playoff by 4:1 sets.
The DANRIC AUTO player of the day trophy was shared between Rüdiger Pfänder (Cohen FC 3) for his solid performance as setter in the National B League final and Martin Helm of SKW 2 for the agile and strong defensive performance in the final of the A league. The Namibian fistball season is far from over with the International Fistball Association’s intercontinental World Club Championships set to take place in Windhoek on October 11. A team from Brazil and another one from Germany will be in action while the local season will end with the Bank Windhoek Fistball Cup on November 2.
Here are the final rankings of the National Fistball Championship
National league A
1.SKW 1
2.SKW 2
3.Cohen FC 1
4.SFC 1
5.Cohen FC 2
National league B
1.Cohen FC 3
2.SKW 3
3.SFC 2
4.DTS
5.CFC 4
By staff Reporter