Kokopo out in force

By HUXLEY LOVAI
TEAM East New Britain have come out in force, fielding teams in the Under-15, U17 and U21 divisions at the current NGCB Junior Netball Championships in Port Moresby.
Team ENB, along with neighbours West New Britain, are the two teams who have travelled the furthest to get to the nation’s capital for championships.
ENB Netball Association vice-president Joyce Varuna told The National that the girls selected for the team all play in the Kokopo town competition.
“In our town comp, we have three divisions, A, B and C grades.
“The U15 players were selected from the C grade, our U17 players selected from A and B grade, while our U21 team is made up entirely of A grade players,” Varuna said.
“We want to nurture our juniors because they’re talented and they have the skills. This is a good opportunity to show the rest of PNG what we have in the province,” Varuna said. The Kokopo netball competition have their games on Saturdays at the Kalabond Netball Courts.
There are six teams in the A grade, seven in B grade and six in C grade.
Varuna said a lot of interest has been witnessed among young players in Kokopo.
Varuna said the majority of the players in A grade were young, and it was a good indication of the growth and future of netball in the province and the region.
“Teams we have played against (in past and the current tournaments) have commented about the improvement in our standard of play.
“I think our players have caught the attention of national selectors,” Varuna said.
Varuna and Nicole Habitein, who is the ENB Netball Association treasurer, thanked ENB Governor Ereman ToBaining Jr and PNG Sports Foundation chief executive officer Peter Tsiamalili Jr for making their trip possible.