Namibia’s Fistball spectators were treated to a number of outstanding games at the Bank Windhoek Fistball Championship which were held over the weekend.
There were no positional changes in the Bank Windhoek National A league. SKW 2 remains unbeaten in this year’s championship and retained top position. Their club mates SKW 1 held on to second position by winning their two matches against Cohen FC 1, who were once again hit by injury. After their first game Cohen FC 1 had to manage with only four players for the rest of the day, after their setter injured himself.
The Swakopmund based SFC 1 put in a solid performance to keep first position in the Bank Windhoek National League B. However, there were some major reshuffles behind the log leaders. SFC 2 is now in second place and Cohen FC 3 is in third place. SKW 3, who lost all their games, moved from second position to fourth position. The National League newcomers, Deutscher Turn-und Sportverein (DTS), managed their first win of the season.
The Bank Windhoek U18 League saw a lot of action on Saturday, since one round of games had been postponed from the last league meeting. It also produced the game of the day. SKW U18 took on SFC U18 in the last game of the day, which proved to be action filled with both sets running down to the wire. SKW had the better nerves in the end taking home the win by 2-0 sets.
Ricco Kühnle-Kreitz and Günter von Hundelshausen were awarded the “Danric Auto Player of the Day Award” for their performance in the U18 League and National B League respectively.
With the Men’s World Championship only two months away, the practice squad consisting of 13 players had to be reduced to the final team of 10 who will represent Namibia in Austria. After taking a final look at the contenders, coach Stefan Grögli and the selection panel decided on the following team:
Gernot Friedrich, Jens Iben, Wanjo Meyer, Mark Roesener (all Cohen Fistball Club (CFC)), Christoph Kubirske, Michael Baas, Olaf Haase, Michael Zimny, Arend von Stryk and Christian Knobloch (all Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW)).
The team will prepare for the World Championships during a week-long training camp in Jona, Switzerland, prior to the tournament. Christian Schluep, a former Swiss international, will join the coaching staff.