Owen to lead Pepes

By SULI SULI
KILALA Owen will lead the Papua New Guinea Pepes against hosts Fiji Pearls in the opener of the Oceania Netball World Cup Qualifiers at the Vodafone Arena in Suva, Fiji, today (5.30pm tip-off, PNG time).
Fifteenth-ranked Fiji is hosting the Cook Islands (14th), Tonga, Samoa (16th) and PNG (35th) in World Cup qualifier in Suva next month.
Tonga lost their place as a result of not having the minimum number of matches required to continue the ranking.
Teams have to finish in the top-two to qualify for next year’s World Cup with the Fiji tournament being the only chance for these nations to reach the sport’s global showpiece event.
Pepes coach Gimanama Crowdy told The National yesterday that the team had settled in well since their arrival in Suva last week and were ready for the qualifiers.
“It’s a special moment for many of these players as they debut for PNG,” she said.
“It is also my first appearance as the head coach of the team, so I am looking forward to it,” Crowdy said.
“The players are doing well.
“There are no major hiccups apart from minor niggles.
“The vibe is great and they are getting to know each other well.
“We had our first training session here last Friday.
“So it has been good just getting to have a few sessions to put the team together before our first game against the hosts.”
According to World Netball, the Oceania tournament is the first of five regional qualifying events for the World Cup which will be held in Cape Town, South Africa.
Mentored by Crowdy and assistant coach Margaret Opina, the Pepes are expected to face a tough Pearls side who will be led by co-captains Alisi Naqiri and Maria Rusivakula.
The Pepes will count on Owen, Jacklyn Lahari, Alexandra Smith Ani and Sarah Harris to lead the team in the five-day tournament which will be played in a round-robin format with the winners bagging two points.
The team will meet the Cook Islands tomorrow and Tonga on Thursday.
Their last game will be against Samoa on Saturday.