Robert Bailey, Freelance Writer

Winston Nevers, coach of Jamalco, says he is very confident in his team's chances of winning this year's Jamaica Netball Association (JNA)/Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) Open League competition, this after his side qualified for the quarter-finals on Saturday at the Leila Robinson Courts.

Jamalco thrashed Alpha 'A' 58-11 in the Group C top of-the-tables clash. The Clarendon based-team, which is unbeaten this season, won the Group with 21 points, six more than Alpha (15), which was followed by Ocho Rios Magics (12).

Also advancing to the quarter-finals Saturday were Blades United, Speg, Windalco, Waulgrovians 'A', Arnett Gardens and Jestsetters 'A'.

They joined defending champion Tivoli Gardens 'A' who were the first to qualify after their victory over Hellshire United last Thursday.

"I am very confident that we can win this tournament," said Nevers, who is also the coach of Windalco. "I think that Tivoli Gardens and Waulgrovians are two of our main dangers because they have been into the semi-finals and finals of the competition for the past couple years, so it is going to be very tough to be them. We are playing excellent netball at the moment. However, we also don't underestimate any of our opponents in this league."

'Easy' game

National goalshooter Romelda Aiken, who was voted the most outstanding shooter at last year's World Netball Championships in New Zealand, led Jamalco with 45 goals as they ended the first half with a 28-5 lead.

The attacking flow did not change in the second half as Jamalco continued its rampage. Goal attack Margaret Byfield scored the team's other eight goals.

Despite the lopsided scoreline, Nevers said his team fell below expectations because the opponent gave a sub-par effort.

"We didn't achieve our goals that we set out achieve in our game against Alpha 'A' because they didn't play as well as we expected them to. The game was much too easy for us."