DAY 4| Boys| Paarl Gim remains the undisputed Belgotex champion

Paarl Gimnasium edged out Worcester Gymnasium 2-1 to win gold in the final of the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament in Cape Town on Saturday evening.

The victory was Gim’s third consecutive title at the prestigious tournament, following on from their successes in 2022 and 2023.

On their journey to the final, Gim made their case as the best boys’ team at the tournament. They were emphatic in front of goal and played an exciting brand of hockey that got spectators off their feet.

In their semi-final on Friday, they put on a masterclass, dismantling Namibia’s Private School Swakopmund 9-1 to book themselves a spot in the Cup final.

Their opponents, Worcester Gymnasium were also a cut above the rest in the pool stages, winning all four of their matches and scoring 21 goals while conceding only three.

There was little to separate them from their semi-final opponents, Stellenberg, however. The teams played to a 1-1 draw before coach Edrich Janse van Rensburg‘s charges scraped through with a 4-3 win on penalties.

The final was tightly contested through the first two chukkas, with Gim missing out on a number of chances.

They had a golden chance to go ahead early in the match from the penalty spot, but Willem Mathee‘s shot was stopped by Worcester’s goalkeeper, Barko de Wet, and the chukka ended goalless.

The deadlock was finally broken with just over a minute to play in the second chukka. After Gim received a short corner, captain LD Nel fired a superb drag flick into the back of the net to give his team a narrow lead at half-time.

The third chukka was a stalemate as both sides’ offensive forays were met by well-structured defences.

However, Juan Swanepoel struck a crucial blow for Paarl Gim in the fourth chukka, with less than six minutes to play, to make it 2-0.

Worcester was not going to go down without a fight and they pulled one back through a penalty corner, courtesy of Driesie Burger. That goal set up a tense final two minutes, with players from both sides throwing their bodies on the line.

With a minute left in the match, Worcester was granted another short corner, but Gim scrambled well to keep their lead intact. That proved to be the last goals coring opportunity of the match. Time ran out and Gim claimed the title with a 2-1 victory.

Cape Town’s Stellenberg finished third after a 3-1 win over Namibia’s Private School Swakopmund in their playoff match.

After a slow start, Stellies took charge of the contest by opening the scoring in the first chukka. They added two more in the second chukka, with Nicholas Brown, Christian Spence, and Gerrard Noukoua their goal scorers. Stellenberg thought they had added a fourth in the third chukka, but it was disallowed.

Swakopmund gave it all they had but had to settle for a solitary goal from James De Jager.

In other matches, after they had finished regulation time level at 1-1, Paarl Boys’ High defeated the SACS Invitational side 2-1 on penalties to finish 11th. Kingswood College was the best of the Eastern Cape teams, finishing 10th, after a 2-4 defeat against Hoërskool Durbanville.

Meanwhile, Hoërskool Outeniqua beat York High 2-0 to take seventh, while Somerset College finished fifth after a 1-0 win over Fairmont.

RESULTS
The Settlers 0(3)-0(4) Hoërskool Oudtshoorn (39^th-40^th Place)
Pro-Ed Akademie 1(1)-1(2) Hoërskool Swartland (37^th-38^th Place)
Hugenote 1-3 Hoërskool Robertson (35^th -36^th Place)
Hoërskool Strand 2-0 Hoërskool Punt (33^rd-34^th place)
Woodridge College 1-0 Windhoek Gymnasium (31^st-32^nd Place)
Bridge House 2-1 Redhill (29^th/30^th Place)
Hoërskool Belville 5-4 Hoërskool Stellenbosch (27^th-28^th Place)
Northcliff High 1(3)-1(1)  Hoërskool Middelburg (25^th -26^th Place)
Stirling High 1-2 Langenhoven Gimnasium (23^rd-24^th Place)
Hoërskool Rustenburg 1-0 Curro Durbanville (21^st-22^nd Place)
Hoërskool Nelspruit 1-2 Monument (19^th-20^th Place)
Hoërskool Hermanus 2-1 DF Malan (17^th-18^th Place)
Hudson Park 3-5 St George’s Diocesan School (15^th-16^th Place)
Windhoek High School 1-0 St John’s College (Harare) (13^th-14^th Place)
Paarl Boys’ High 1(2)-1(1) SACS Invitational (11^th-12^th Place)
Kingswood College 2-4 Hoërskool Durbanville (9^th/10^th Place)
Hoërskool Outeniqua 2-0 York High (7^th-8^th Place)
Somerset College 1-0 Fairmont (5^th-6^th Place)
Private School Swakopmund 1-3 Hoërskool Stellenberg (3^rd-4^th Place)
Paarl Gimnasium 2-1 Worcester Gymnasium (1^st -2^nd Place)

• About
• Latest Posts

Avuyile Sawula

Avuyile Sawula is a multimedia sports journalist, broadcaster, and writer. He possesses a journalism qualification from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. During his time in the media industry, he has worked for various online media publications covering a variety of sporting codes. He also has a broadcasting background having worked as a news journalist at one of Cape Town’s commercial radio stations. His reporting beats include hockey, rugby, water polo, and cricket. Apart from writing, he has a knack for creating sports content, and video editing.

Latest posts by Avuyile Sawula (see all)

• Paul Roos welcomes top Cape teams for Pre-Season Water Polo Festival - 2025-01-09
• Champions Central Gauteng and Western Province dominate SA Schools selection - 2024-12-11
• Central Gauteng outsmarts Western Province to claim back-to-back IPT titles - 2024-12-11