THE?Barbados Netball Association’s Division One league play-offs will start on Saturday involving the top four teams.
The action which led up to the play-offs has been intense and exciting with knockout titlists Pine Hill St Barnabas, defending league champions CO Williams Rangers, Spooner’s Hill and Guardian General Pride of Villa qualifying in that order for the next round. The quality of play has outshone many of the best forgotten incidents involving some teams, players and officials.
The inaugural Fast Five launched the season and excited the returning fans with Spooner’s Hill claiming that title. Unfortunately, Spooner’s Hill and their management were involved in many controversies which led to a number of umpires openly declaring that they would not officiate matches involving the team.
Even so, with a number of talents in their unit and under the management of Alicia Jemmott, Alwyn Babb and Cameron Greenidge, Spooner’s Hill proved to be one of the Big Four through some top class netball on court. Lydia Jemmott remains one of the best, if not the best, shooter in the island and her court craft plus great agility have been inspiring.
The experience of Kizzy Marville and Joyann Cooke and the aggression of Chekirah Shepherd have given Spooner’s Hill their third position and a face-off with Rangers.
During the off season, St Barnabas lost the speedy Damisha Croney to the UWI Blackbirds and an injury to Samantha Browne could have dented their title hopes. However, acquiring Laurel Browne from Silver Raiders has given St Barnabas an awesome shooting weapon.
The tall and powerful Shonette Bruce at defence, backed by the experience of Jackie Browne-McConney and Julie Phillips, have put St Barnabas in line to nurture a squad of talented youngsters to reach and win another final this year.
Rangers have already lost three times to St Barnabas and after such close defeats they will be hoping that the return of the British-based Nikita Piggott will provide the impetus to defeat Spooner’s Hill and meet and beat St Barnabas this time around. Piggott will give coach Sandra Bruce-Small plenty options in attack with the evergreen Olivia Walcott and the dangerous Shakeena Rock, along with a strong mid court and a dominant goalkeeper in Rhe-Ann Niles.
Villa’s downfall has been the absence of a coach to run their on court play as a team boasting the Blackman sisters, Latonia and Nadia, Makeba Clarke and six-footer Faye Sealy often lose the plot in tactics and not in skill.
UWI Blackbirds cannot use such an excuse but the knowledgeable Margaret Cutting could not prevent the constant meltdown of the Blackbirds after strong first halves. Great shooters in Mechelle Liburd and Monique James complemented by the likes of Alicia Harding, Croney and Tyna King just could not match the level of play from the top four teams on a consistent basis.
Inconsistency also saw the Phoenix Gems ending in the cellar in spite of fielding the tallest team with girls like the Wharton sisters, Shonica and Shanise, Shannon Hackett, Chemeyne Alleyne, Tonisha Rock-Yaw and Shanice Rock. Height, skill and more importantly, consistency will determine who claims the 2013 League crown.
