Day two delivers thrilling netball at Nedbank Namibian Newspaper Cup

The second day of the Nedbank Namibian Newspaper Cup netball tournament at Keetmanshoop produced thrilling encounters, surprise results, and standout performances as teams continued their push for top honours.

Ohangwena emerged as one of the most dominant sides of the day, registering emphatic victories over Zambezi (33–14), ||Kharas (27–16), and Hardap (31–9).

Their clash against Erongo, however, proved to be the highlight, with Ohangwena edging a tightly contested match 32–27 in what has been described as one of the most exciting games of the tournament so far.

Kavango West also impressed with a series of strong performances, narrowly defeating Omaheke 19–18 before going on to beat Oshana 20–12, Otjozondjupa 30–18, and Oshikoto 29–9. Their consistency on both ends of the court underlined their credentials as serious contenders.

Kavango East maintained their good form with convincing wins over Oshikoto (32–16) and Oshana (32–10), but were held to a 26–26 draw by Omaheke in a closely fought encounter.

One of the standout moments of the day came when Otjozondjupa secured a dramatic 22–21 victory over Khomas. The final whistle sparked jubilant celebrations from the Otjozondjupa players and supporters, as the result handed Khomas their first defeat of the tournament.

Omusati continued to show resilience in tight matches, edging Kunene 22–20 and overcoming Hardap 17–16 in another narrow contest. Elsewhere, Erongo defeated Hardap 18–12, while ||Kharas drew 22–22, with Kunene before narrowly beating Zambezi 18–17.

Speaking at the tournament at Keetmanshoop on Saturday, Netball Namibia secretary Jessica Gaomuses said the second day unfolded well despite some challenges, including injuries to umpires. She highlighted the competitive and entertaining nature of the matches and singled out the encounter between Ohangwena and Erongo as the most exciting of the day.

Gaomuses also urged netball fans to come out in numbers to support the games, describing the tournament as a unifying platform for communities across the country, similar to football.

Omusati coach David Koleni said he was pleased with his team’s performance so far. Speaking after their win over Hardap, Koleni said 75% of his squad is made up of new players, but he believes they have what it takes to compete strongly as the tournament progresses.

Meanwhile, ||Kharas coach Natalia Shidolo reflected on her side’s first victory at the tournament, admitting that their chances of progressing were over after earlier defeats. Speaking at Keetmanshoop on Saturday, she pointed to limited preparation time and a lack of a winning mentality as key challenges, but said she remained hopeful her team would come back stronger in future editions.

The tournament enters the third day on Sunday as exciting encounters are expected with teams that will make it to the knockout stage expected by early noon.

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