By Staff Reporter
Cohen Fistball Club (CFC) won its sixth consecutive Bank Windhoek Fistball National Cup Tournament on Saturday, 5 November 2022, in Windhoek. In a closely contested Category A final, the hosts CFC 1 triumphed. SKW 3 of Windhoek won the Category B trophy. The National Cup was won by SKW Wildcats in the Under 13 category.
In the Category A final, the Cohen got out to a flying start, outscoring SKW 1 11:2 in the first set. After switching sides, SKW 1 turned the tables with a goal from Michael Baas, keeping the defending champion at bay. SKW 1 resumed where it left off after the equalizing sets. Michael Baas, the Player of the Day, took advantage of the weak CFC 1 defence to establish a 2:1 lead. CFC 1 was on the verge of defeat after 46 consecutive matches when SKW 1 had set and match point at 9:10 in the fourth set. Nonetheless, Rico Kühnle Kreitz, who kept CFC hopes alive throughout the match with his accurate serves, changed the settings in the host’s favour. In the decisive set, neither team was able to break away. CFC 1 won its seventh championship in nine years with a 3:2 victory over SKW 1.
CFC 1 moved to the Category final following a sovereign semi-final triumph over SFC 1 with strategic precision play and very little luck. SKW 1 won the second semi-final match against CFC 2, the league runners-up, by three points. The green and white teams, SKW 3 and SKW 2 won their semi-finals in Category B. After defeating their clubmates 3:1 in the final, the third team claimed the B division title.
In Group A, the defending champions CFC 1 met three clubs from visiting SKW. CFC 1, which had only four players in the preliminary round, won all of its matches. SKW 1 finished second, with SKW 3 and SKW 2 finishing second and third, respectively. CFC 2 pushed for a group win in Group B after a rough start. SFC 1 came in second place with the same number of points. After the preliminary round, CFC 3 and SKW 4 qualified third and fourth for the Category B semi-final games, respectively.
SKW Under 13’s Bobby Sinclair was named Youth Player of the Day. Hardy Spoerer of CFC was voted “Most Valuable Player of the 2022 Season,” while Rico Kühnle-Kreitz of CFC was selected “Player of the Year.” Tamara Grögli, a member of the SKW youth academy, was selected Youth Player of the Year.
The National Cup Tournament takes place after the Bank Windhoek Fistball League. It is the final event in the Namibia Fistball Association’s season calendar. The 2023 season will kick off again at SFC in February 2023. Before that, however, Michael Baas and Andreas Minz will call the extended men’s squad together in January 2023 for the third training camp in preparation for the upcoming World Cup in July 2023.
