Mermaids forfeit grand final against Sparrows

By HUXLEY LOVAI
IT was an eventful grand final day for the Port Moresby Netball Association which saw the Snax Mermaids forfeit the premier division tier-one grand final against the Credit Corp Sparrows on Saturday night.
The Sparrows were then awarded the tier one championship title.
The event left a sour note on what was an otherwise exciting day for all the grand finalists.
All the divisions from under 10s to the premier division played their grand final matches.
In the tier-two premier division final Rebels proved too good for Raukele coming away 64-37 winners.
With PNG Pepes Jacklyn Lahari calling the shots at the centre for Raukele, her competed well in the opening two quarters making things difficult of the Rebels midcourt and shooters. Rebels took a 30-18 lead into the halftime break.
However, as the match went on the Rebels class and experience came to the fore as they began to pull away.
Rebels Winnie Mavara and Marinama Maha took control of the centre and goal third supplying their shooters Lua Rikis and Daisy Ole with ample scoring chances.
Rebels captain Rikis said the win was a great confidence booster for the young side.
“Most of our young players have come through our junior divisions and they have really stepped up this season,” Rikis said.
“It’s good to see the young girls coming through the ranks, so some of the older players can step back and have a break. We worked hard the whole season, we were undefeated in the four rounds. This grand final win is just icing on the cake for us.
“The new format was benefit for us being a team with a lot of young players. It was a learning period of the team as we move into the tier one which will be a lot more competitive.”