TAKE A BOW PAUL, NOT MUCH YOU CAN DO, THE KID HAS GOT YOUR NUMBER…
It was a very fruitful weekend for the youngest ever BPL Premier Division athlete as he took out both Paul and Vish and honestly it feels like a lifetime ago when Aden Joseph last had a memorable BPL weekend, the top flight league has converted the once feared Wonderkid into everyone’s whooping boy. The first cut is always the deepest and all the damage was done at GrandWest in February in the Paul v Aden saga. Aden Joseph plays 9 matches in the BPL and performs under par with flashes of brilliance here and there, now how does one explain that his only victims were Yulan, Paul and Vishen could this be proof that lightning certainly does strike twice in the same place after all? Well we did warn that if Paul bleeds then the killer instinct in Aden would be activated and I guess it is the way it is and there isn’t much that Paul can do the kid has his blueprint in his top drawer. Aden has made Paul cry twice, convincingly so at that and to the onlooker this is absolutely mind boggling but maybe Mr Bennett should also learn to stop attacking with his tail in between his legs, it gives the wrong message to the opponent. The match could have yielded only one apple but that was enough to send Bloemfontein into a frenzy, an Aden win is always a very special treat for the home fans, it doesn’t really matter how long they have to wait and this time around their patience was tested to the limit.
When it rains it pours and Aden certainly made it rain this weekend with two back to back wins against Paul and Vishen and this was a special weekend for a guy who had almost forgotten how to win. Bennett went down 2-0 (4-2, 4-3) but so did Vishen, however in the latter case, The Dish only managed to secure one odd frame to make sure it doesn’t sound like it was a walkover and in the process Aden earned a much needed bonus point and with this performance he earns himself the Sheriff’s Toast of the Week. The scores ended 4-0 and 4-1 and it must have hurt for Vishen who drove 9 solid hours from Johannesburg to Bloemfontein and back just to win one frame. Nonetheless Jagdev had a bitter-sweet weekend as he played and won the CSF star-studded R50 000 tournament on Saturday at Ballbreakers for a whooping R7 500 first prize in the presence of bigwigs Wetsi, Velly Diamond, Sbu, Sandile (He lost in the first round), and Kyle Akaloo to mention but a few. Vish made his mark very early in the tourney getting rid of in-form Akaloo who had just beat Keegza, and along the way The Dish had to out-muscle Wayne Parker and that must have drained him tremendously leaving him with nothing left in his reserves to match a well-rested Aden. That match concluded the first round of matches and looking at the log, Aden still has to claw his way out of the red zone. Sandile is also deep in the red with only 3/9 wins (No surprises there) in fact Nsovo, Vishen, Sandile and Aden have all won 3 matches each and none of them is safe from relegation. The second round will be very crucial and I can imagine how much of an upset it will be to many a supporter if Legacy had to play in the lower tier next season. Sbu Gumede is also not far-off, one slip up and he may have to dig very deep to survive.
Lenny got the better of his travel mate Sylvester Henry in the Hotshots derby but the win wasn’t enough to get him out of Queer Street as yet.
As can be seen on the log, Lenny is still in position 10, a position he is very familiar with if you reflect on his stint in the Premier Division a season ago. Sly remains in the top five at the break and it remains to be seen how he will fair at the end of the season. In the case of Lenny perhaps his fate has been sealed. I do not know what Ishmael Mthethwa’s problem is but perhaps the African Champion has lost all interest in the game, he finds himself in 9th position and only 4 points ahead of Lenny at the end of the first round, one wonders what really motivates these players because looking at the ten of them before kick-off, Ishmael would have been tipped to walk straight into the Premier Division with very little hustle. The man was untouchable less than a year ago and he finds himself ready to be relegated from the First Disivion, how bizarre is that?
Mabuti welcomed new-boy Raiesh Pillay to the big league and as expected the number one seed made his mark and dominated over his opponent. The result (4-3, 4-1) could be a good indication for Riaesh, I mean it must have taken some skill and character to secure four frames against Mabuti, it’s a pity Pillay inherited Shameel’s account otherwise it would have been a different story altogether. I wish he survises relegation and lives to fight from a clean slate next season.
Thami also paid relegation threatened Kevin a visit to confirm what many knew would happen beforehand. The scores might have ended 4-3 in both sessions and the match might have taken long to finish but Rea Vaya got the job done and we have a new number 3 on the log. Donovan and Juandre started like a house on fire but they seem to have faded into the horizon. The Freestate seems to be the weakest link with all three athletes from that province deep in the red. Anyway we are only halfway into the season and a lot can still happen. Let’s wait and see…
THE BPL NEVER DISAPPOINTS!!!
