Scotiabank ‘A’ claim BH Open League crown
SCOTIABANK ‘A’ dethroned arch-rivals and defending champions General Accident, 32-29, in an exciting Business House Netball Association (BHNA) Open League final at the Leila Robinson Courts on Saturday.
This was the first time the teams were facing each other this season and both entered the decider unbeaten in the preliminary rounds.
The triumph for the bankers did not come easily as they had to rally from slim first-, second- and third-quarter deficits before taking charge in the fourth and final.
With the teams fielding past and present and national squad invitees in their line-ups, the match was action-packed from the opening pass and provided spectators with some thrilling moments.
Both teams were tied at 3-3 in the early exchanges before the insurance combination pulled in front, 5-3. But the winners netted two straight buckets to even up at 5-5. Play was evenly contested for the next few minutes with the scores locked two more times as the quarter ended 8-7.
General Accident pulled level at 8-8 on the resumption before their opponents took a time out trailing 10-8. The bankers then scored two quick goals to level affairs at 10-10.
General Accident took a 17-10 lead, but their main shooter Marsha Murphy was a bit off. At half-time, General Accident led 18-13.
The third quarter produced a great turnaround for the bankers, but their opponents led 22-16. However, before the third quarter ended, Scotiabank rallied to trail by just two, 23-21.
For the winners, goal-shooter Murphy netted 31 from 43 attempts, while for General Accident, Margarety Lawrence scored 24 from 29 and Nadine Bryan with five from six.
Meanwhile, Jamaica Broilers defeated WISYNCO, 36-24, in the third-place Open League play-off. Jamaica Infrastructure Operators (JIO) outscored Jamaica Public Service, 27-17, to capture the Consolation KO final, while third place went to Digicel Jamaica, who topped Scotiabank ‘B’, 17-15.
National Housing Trust (NHT) ‘A’ beat Transport Authority, 12-9, to win the Mid-Season Rally final contested by teams who did not qualify for the Open League semi-finals and the Consolation KO semi-finals.
