South New Zealand and Sydney have won their sudden death ARTTSL Preliminary Finals, beating Sunshine Coast and Singapore respectively, whose seasons are now over.
It was a case of deja-vu in Christchurch where South New Zealand and Sunshine Coast met for the second week in a row, having coincidentally played in round 11, with the Kiwi side prevailing there.
Sunshine Coast were keen to turn the tables this week. The match was played fast and bitter and South New Zealand gained an early 5-3 lead, before Sunshine Coast won 6 of the next seven points to take a seamingly match-winning 9-6 lead. However South New Zealand regained focus to win 5 straight points and the match 11-9.
South New Zealand mascot the Big Peter Jackson was ecstatic and surprised the crowd and players alike by doing some celebratory cartwheels.
"Mate, I've lost all this weight, I might as well make the most of it", Jackson said in the post-match press-conference. "I smell a Premiership again". The last time Jackson uttered those words on camera South New Zealand hit a slump for several weeks, so clearly Jackson is feeling very confident with their chances now.
Meanwhile across the pond, Sydney hosted Singapore in a match that demonstrated how ARTTSL has taken rebound table tennis to a new level. The match featured many long and fast points. Although both sides were on form, Singapore suffered a mix of bad luck and loose shots after long rallies to go down 11-2 in a disapointing end to their season.
Sydney will now travel to Christchurch to play South New Zealand in next week's second Quarter Final. The loser will be out, while the winner will progress to the Semi Final to face the loser of the first Quarter Final between Gold Coast-Tweed and Newcastle. The winner of the first Quarter Final will secure the first Grand Final spot and earn another week off.
PRELIMINARY FINAL RESULTS:
South New Zealand 11 d Sunshine Coast 9 (at Christchurch)
Sydney 11 d Singapore 2 (at Sydney)
QUARTER FINALS
Gold Coast-Tweed vs Newcastle (at Gold Coast)
South New Zealand vs Sydney (at Christchurch)
2 comments:
Singapore’s disappointing end to the season was somewhat tempered by the surprise arrival, at half time, of mid 90s rah-rah girl Esmerelda Chocolatine who kept everyone’s spirits up with her haunting rendition of “The old grey mare, she ain’t want she used to be”
As a Singapore supporter it was a difficult day but I'll always remember Esmerelda's appearance. She's still got it despite the sagging boobs and unexplained skin-pealing condition.
Bill, Singapore
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