adminRaylton were tied on 108 points with fierce rivals Exchange going into the final day with both teams needing outright victory to secure the slot.
Raylton overpowered a stubborn Donnington 7-6 to grab the three precious points while their rivals Exchange took their foot off the pedal and were seen off by a resurgent Entumbane 8-5 to settle matters for the season.
The result took Entumbane who until the Shumba Bar tournament in August were virtually dark horses to an impressive fourth place finish, six points adrift of third placed Exchange.
Entumbane have put brilliant displays of character and their finish is a statement of what they intend doing next year.
ONE even in defeat still managed to scramble a top five finish.
They fell 8-5 to Nkulumane which is the same scoreline they lost by in the opening week of the league to the same team.
Nkulumane were however left counting the costs as they crashed out of the elite pool league as Drill Hall pulled a Houdini act to survive on the final day. This was after Drill Hall mauled West Comm 12-1.
The result was a bit suspicious considering that West Comm had won the first encounter 8-5 in February and had barely three weeks ago contributed two top players in the Fast Cash tournament while Drill Hall had none.
Moreso that Drill Hall had to qualify by virtue of points makes the matter even more incredible. Black Eagles, Drill Hall and Nkulumane all finished with 60 points but because of frame differences Black Eagles had a difference of -1, Drill Hall had -10, while Nkulumane had -12. Before the games, Nkulumane had -15 while Drill Hall had -21.
Nkulumane players also complained that the two teams had supplied conflicting scorelines from the same match.
“The first result we got was that Drill Hall had won 10-3 but when we told them that we had also beaten ONE the result changed to 12-1 so we are not sure what the final score was,” fumed one player from Nkulumane.
The player added that the results were revised to suit the differences that would work against them qualifying.
When contacted for comment BPA secretary Charles Dube said the final result of the match was official 12-1 and that his office had not received any complaint from Nkulumane regarding the issue.
The results mean that Nkulumane, Fast Cash, Marula, Green Corner, Kugona, Nketa, Ntabeni and Heroes have officially been relegated from the BPA league.
Online Reporter