Swakopmund — The season's pipe opening fistball tourney, the Bank Windhoek Fistball Championship kicked off at the SFC Sport Club in Swakopmund last weekend with teams in the National B League producing some surprises, while the favourites all prevailed in the A League.

Cohen FC 3, who have been the dominant side in B League competitions for the past three years, surprisingly went home without a win. The Windhoekers came up against hosts SFC 2 in a hotly-contested semi-final in what turned out to be a humdinger of a match. Cohen enjoyed a comfortable lead at the start of the match, but the seasiders clawed their way back into the game which culminated in a mere two point difference between the teams going into the break.

The lead changed hands continuously until SFC built a sizable four point lead in the final minutes of the game to despatch the defending champions in an intense encounter. The victorious SFC side met SKW 3, but Imawida built an early lead and remained in control of proceedings until the midway through the 2nd half. However, a couple of unforced errors in the attack allowed the coastal side back into the game.

The hosts steadily closed the gap on Imawida 3rd strings and after the final whistle, SFC 3 had a two point lead to send SKW packing. In the National A League, SKW 1 showed some early season form when they comfortably beat Cohen FC 1 in the final by 34:22 points. Cohen FC 1 kept things tight during the first half of the game, but were not able to maintain momentum. Early in the 2nd half, a couple of unforced errors by the Cohen spikers put Imawida in a commanding 7 point lead.

Third place went to SKW 2, while the youthful SFC Sport Club finished a distant 5th, suffering the ignominy of holding the wooden spoon. The Fistball season will continue on March 16, 2013 in Windhoek when the first round of games in the Bank Windhoek Fistball Championship are scheduled to take place at the SKW sportsground.