ONCE MORE THE TWO OCEANS MEET AND SMOKING HOT NSOVO LOOKS TO CLOSE IT OFF IN GRAND STYLE
Nsovo Mathonsi is the man of the moment, he is the current GP number one seed in the Men’s category and the number 2 seed in the U23 section respectively. The past week has seen him play non-stop pool and this has sharpened his horns to unprecedented levels. He is a regular feature in the DVM weekly comp and he has been cleaning it up, he has been winning it back to back lately and raising the bar a notch or two higher. The DVM weekly comp is arguably the country’s toughest competition and to dominate it in the fashion that Bana Shilolo has would take some serious doing and nerves of steel and for the first time in his playing career, after conquering Gauteng, Nsovo paid homage to his late mentor and role model Frans Mathe perhaps evoking the spirit of the late great in him. Through Nsovo Frans’ legacy has lived on and many will agree that watching the former U23 play is the closest that one can get to reliving the memories of the gone but never to be forgotten original ‘Silent Killer’.
Nsovo will be taking on the flamboyant Sandile ‘Legacy’ Madlala away at Ballbreakers Cresta this Saturday the 5th of December at 3pm. This and the rest of the weekend’s fixtures will be the last of the year and they will decide who gets an early Christmas present. With the form that Shilolo has been exhibiting lately it will take something rather extra special from Madlala or anyone for that matter to derail the boy but Sandile is a special player in his own right, he is a big match player and whenever he is called upon to deliver when the odds are stacked up against him, he has done so distinctively time and again. This should be a humdinger of a match, a must see to say the least and it being the last Premier league match in GP for the year before the festive break, make a date with the BPL crew and bring the family along for A-class pool in the best league in the whole world. Nsovo won the first round fixture but knowing Legacy, he would want to be the last man standing and also to remind Nsovo that he still has a few more years to accumulate some experience before he reaches legendary Madlala levels. The athletes are both stuck in the red relegation zone, as hard as it is to believe, Sandile is placed 9th on the log and Nsovo is rock bottom at 10th and nothing motivates a man better than the prospect of being eliminated. Now more than ever these two will have to come prepared for war and they should be armed to the teeth if they know what is good for them.
The Atlantic Ocean will once more collide with the Indian Ocean in the last of the Coastal battles for the year going into the Christmas break and it is never pretty when the tectonics collide but this is inevitable, it is war, it is brutal and there will be casualties. The Full Cape contingent will be boosted by the fire power of an inform Ace Salie and an evergreen Paul Bennett, first Division title contender Rushin Bowers and the Charismatic Keeyam ‘Yummy’ Schoeman. Ace and Paul are fixated on getting to within Charl’s reach by the end of the weekend, at 2nd and 3rd position on the log respectively, a double by either of them will go far in their bid to snatch the title from the Assassin. Of course words know no limits and it is easier to say that these two need to win both their matches until you read on and see who they will be taking on. Yulan and Kyle are not only the best in the KZN but they are the tried and tested pied pipers of the game with loads of experience and titles between them and this might just turn out to be a fruitless holiday for the Cappies. Hawkeye is at position 5 as it stands and he would like to improve on that statistic, and for the first time this year the country’s most decorated player will be playing in the over 40s category and in his golden years, Govender is still the main man and he will want to prove this and more by putting one past Ace and Paul this weekend. Talking about Paul, the man refuses to bow down, he is the league’s oldest athlete but at 42, he still packs a very mean punch and has been the mainstay in the Cape for time indefinite.
Yulan will take on The Gentleman at Swerve on Saturday and Kyle will be hosting Yazeed Salie at Ricochets and both matches will kick off at 3pm. Hawkeye will want to correct his shortcomings in the Cape just over a month ago where he got manhandled by both Ace and Paul. Very few athletes have gone to Swerve and come out intact, Yulan breaks people’s bones in his backyard and the visitors will be wary of that but these players have been playing against each other too often and they all know what to expect but no amount of preparation is enough when one has to stare right into the Hawk’s eye, it is always a spine chilling thought but victory is certainly not impossible. Kyle has so far enjoyed his best season in the BPL and if there was an award for the most improved player then he definitely deserves it and he would want nothing less than a Capetonian or two for Christmas this year, Santa Claus confirmed that there was a request along those lines. Jane the Burmese Python will be at hand to make her final appearance for the year this weekend, her majesty has been Kyle’s mascot and number one fan throughout the season thus far and her presence has brought about a lot of luck and goodies for the man affectionately known as ‘The Viper’. Ace will have to be oblivious of the snake if he is to play a top game. His predicament is that of a cigarette, with the one end in the mouth in between the teeth and the other burning with no one trying to put out the fire. If you thought your Saturday was bad, spare a thought for Mr. Salie this weekend, Yazeed will have to deal with a snake either way, it will be the Viper on the table, and a 6ft long Burmese Python off it but trust him to bring out the Ace just when it matters the most. Sunday’s matches will commence at 1pm to allow the visitors ample time to catch their return flights to the mother city. Yulan will be hosting Ace and Kyle will see off Paul.
Rushin and Keeyam will be at Hotshots for their date with Lenny and Sly. Third placed Rushin will do well not to rush in when he takes on Lenny on Saturday. Despite the few hiccups that have befallen the Hammer, he is still not far off the mark and a double will augment his position immensely and he needs to tread carefully as the Durbanites can be a tricky duo. These final matches are always a tad tricky and elusive to many athletes perhaps it gets difficult when one starts thinking about promotion and or relegation. The good thing about Hotshots as a venue is that it allows both matches to happen at the same time and the players can inspire one another as the game progresses and the midway chat can come in very handy. Keeyam will have to win at least one of is matches to steer clear of relegation amongst other things but he has been very inconsistent this season and he seems to be struggling with finding focus and keeping it. Surely Lenny understands that he needs to up his game, and that he needs to move out of that all too familiar 9th spot. I think he needs to visualize himself playing against Sylvester because he seems to know how to get the better of his sparring mate. Sly has been the more successful of the two and Hotshots will be counting in him to keep the fans smiling, will he be a real hot-shot this weekend, yay or nay we will have to wait and see.
Riaesh and Kevin will be the only active members in the Second Division when they meet in a bottom of the table clash at Timeout Sports Bar. Both late comers in the league have struggled to find their feet literally and perhaps this just shows that the battle is won or lost at the very beginning and that a good start catapults the athlete with great momentum that takes them the distance. Woe to those that arrive late for they will be doomed to trail until the very end. It’s a jungle out there and the week will be devoured.
THE BPL NEVER DISAPPOINTS!!! 
