NCD men, women win v’ball titles

By ISAAC LIRI

TEAM NCD men and women were crowned champions of volleyball in the 7th BSP PNG Games yesterday at the San Remo sports precinct.
The NCD teams defeated Central 3-1 in the gold medal thriller play off in front of hundred of spectators.
NCDmen’s coach and assistant women’s coach Victor Lakae gave credit to the associations that produced talented and quality players who won gold.
“The standard of volleyball in NCD is very high, and the game is played annually in most parts of NCD, therefore I think that is one of the reasons we came on top,” Lakae said.
“We’ve got these players from the Fairfax association, from Vabukori (Vava), Tatana and Hanuabada and they have done extremely well maintaining their dominance throughout the Games. “We have only one player in the women’s side from the 2014 PNG Games, who is also a PNG representative in Zoey Awadu.
“The rest are new, however Awadu sisters — Zoey and Perpetua — are Papua New Guinea representatives too and their inclusion has helped us a lot.
“We came with only seven players in the women’s team and we had limited reserves but credit goes to the girls and the men as well for showcasing their fitness all throughout the competition.
“Team Central gave us a really good challenge.
“They had some NCD players and it was tough but our players kept their composure.
“We maintained our basics with good passes and hits to overcame the Central sides.”
In the bronze medal play-off, Bougainville women came out on top of Morobe 3-1, while in the men’s game Morobe defeated Milne Bay 3-0.