3 October 2018 – It was joy all round at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Stadium, Pretoria-West campus on Wednesday for John Ramsay High School (Western Cape) and Sibanesihle (KZN) as they became the first two teams to book their place in the semi-finals of the 2018 Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup national finals tournament.

Sibanesihle and John Ramsay are now guaranteed nothing less than R400,000 (which is the tournament’s fourth-place finish prize money), however, their eyes will be fixed on the ultimate cheque of R1 Million for the winners. Second and third place finishers will bank R600,000 and R500,000 respectively.

John Ramsay, who had a clean sweep in Group D, had previously made three provincial participations in the competition – while it’s their first in the national finals – hence coach Virgille Manuel says getting this far will make a huge difference for the school.

“This money will improve the facilities of the school,” Manuel said. “Before this tournament, we didn’t even have a kit but now we’ve got two. We are hoping to win and improve the infrastructure such as getting a pitch to practice, transport and new classrooms.”

Meanwhile, Sibanesihle who finished second in the provincial final to Ohlange, ensured that they booked their spot in the semi-finals with 7 points in group C, as they recorded one draw and two wins.

Coach Nkululeko Mbanjwa says he owes his team’s fortunes to the players’ dedication.

“We are happy to have qualified for the semis in our first attempt and we are looking forward to getting as far as we can,” Mbanjwa said.

Tomorrow’s group stage round-robin fixtures:

Group A:

Tshikota vs Unitas

School of Excellence vs Phaphamani

Group B:

Clapham vs Khanya-Naledi

Langberg vs Ndzondelelo

 

Semi-finals format:

Winner B vs Winner C

Winner A vs Winner D