The Southern Sting have won their third straight Coca-Cola Cup netball title beating the Canterbury Flames 47-44 in Invercargill tonight.
The Flames lost the first quarter to the home side 13-12. In a closely fought battle, the visitors were apparently not put off by a Stadium Southland crowd firmlyin the grip of Sting mania.
Outside, where the temperature dropped to minus two degrees, there were reports that some Sting fans were offering as much as $300 for a ticket to the game.
After their strong start, the Flames came unstuck in the second quarter. Outplayed 14-8, they did not cherish possession when it came their way and their high rate of unforced errors was not exactly a tonic for the Sting's near perfect defence.
Down 27-20 at half time, the Flames tightened their game for the third quarter and they were looking like they had done some damage when they went up 10-5 four minutes from the end of the quarter.
But, the Sting came back with three quick goals and took out the quarter 13-11.
Down by 38-33 going into the final quarter, a Coca Cola Cup win was still possible for the Flames.
They put in a powerful finish to win the quarter 11-9, but it was not enough to rein in the Sting, who handled the pressure to take out their third final.
