Going through pool play unbeaten, Manawatu Green, Counties Manukau, Wellington and Tauranga spearhead the eight teams who have progressed to tomorrow鈥檚 (Friday) quarter-finals at the NetballSmart Netball NZ Open Champs being hosted at the Christchurch Netball Centre.
With crunch matches on the line during Thursday鈥檚 final round of pool matches at Ng膩 Puna Wai, the leading quartet will be joined by Wait膩kere, Dunedin, Christchurch Whero and North Harbour who also made it safely through and with it the opportunity to be in the running for the 91色情片 Cup.
In Pool A, Manawatu Green clinched top spot when they secured a handy 52-47 win over the previously unbeaten Wait膩kere. Trailing by one at the first break, Manawatu Green imposed their presence with a forceful 16-8 reply in the second quarter to take control.
Ever-green goal attack and captain Renee Matoe set the tone expertly for Manawatu Green, the shortest player in the circle using all her craftiness to orchestrate proceedings on attack while chiming in with her accuracy under the hoop.
Picking up some extra ball on defence, Manawatu Green finished the third quarter strongly to build a 10-goal buffer and into the box seat at the last break.
Wait膩kere produced a spirited finish to win the last quarter, tall shooter Priscilla Rasmussen being a prominent figure with her scoring ability, but the northerners had left their run too late to halt Manawatu Green鈥檚 giant-killing run.
That left defending champions Hamilton City adrift in third place in the pool and consigned to the ninth to 16th-place play-offs.
Pool B was more straight-forward with Counties Manukau proving a cut above the rest and seeing off their nearest challengers, Dunedin with a comprehensive 55-40 win to seal top spot.
With shooters Jaelin Tulikaki and Crystal Maro playing together at the Comets and defender Lili Tokaduadua, and midcourter Tori Kolose, for the Stars, Counties Manukau have a well-balanced side with plenty of firepower.
In the competitive Pool C, Christchurch Whero, who delivered three decisive wins in their opening three matches had their bubble burst by the Frances Solia-coached Wellington.
Both teams produced plenty of attacking momentum in a tight opening quarter before Wellington nudged to a three-goal lead at the first break, then continuing to push ahead.
Returning after an injury-plagued couple of years, goal attack Khiarna Williams was an influential figure for the Wellingtonians through her variety of play and well-timed quick ball release to key shooter Phoenix Schwalger.
Winning the second and third quarters by three and two goals respectively, Wellington had built a seven-goal buffer by three-quarter time before Christchurch Whero mounted a concerted last quarter fightback.
The return of midcourt captain Parris Petera gave Christchurch Whero more impetus on attack while the defence end helped the southerners create more turnovers as they opened the final stanza with five straight goals.
Regrouping, Wellington roared back into action with goalkeeper Zalika Clarke capping a fine game when picking off some clutch intercept and rebound ball to seal the win.
Wellington and Christchurch Whero effectively shut the door on a crunch day for Auckland, who were well-beaten by the Canterbury team earlier in the day, leaving them in third place and into the ninth to 16th play-offs.
Tauranga were the dominant team of Pool D, fending off second-placed North Harbour with a comfortable 45-36 win.
In a big day tomorrow, (Friday), Manawatu Green will square off against North Harbour, Counties Manukau meet Christchurch Whero, Wellington come up against Dunedin and Tauranga will clash with Wait膩kere to determine the semi-finalists.
The semi-finals will be played on Friday afternoon along with on-going matches to determine places fifth to 20th.
Final play-off matches will be played on Saturday, culminating in the Grand Final at 1.30pm.