Rigo, Koita reach final of VPL

Sports

GAMOGA Lawyers Spirit of Rigo and Koita Warriors had a Mother’s Day to remember, going unbeaten and automatically qualifying for the semifinals of the Trukai Village Premier League last weekend.
Both teams are now in the box seat for the first prize of K20,000 on Sunday.
Spirit of Rigo comfortably beat Panamex PNG and Zara Wanderers.
Spirit of Rigo were outstanding in the field, restricting their opposition to lower-than-expected scores.
Robert Naime not only leads Spirit of Rigo, he also sits atop the bowling charts for the league, taking six wickets for only 12 runs from his four overs across both matches.
He and captain Damien Ravu are among the top-10 batters.
Warriors convincingly defeated Northern Alexanders and Fairprice Furniture Mambas in their pool matches.
Their dominant batting attack was the foundation of their success.
Assad Vala, Kumul Petroleum Papua New Guinea Barramundis captain, leads all the batters with 76 runs from his two innings, at a strike rate of 200.
In one particularly devasting over, Assad took to former Barras teammate Mahuru Dai for two towering sixes.
Teammate Uditha Sameera strongly supported Vala, also featuring in the top-10 batters.
All is not lost for Panamex PNG, Zara Wanderers, Northern Alexanders and Fairprice Furniture Mambas, as they move into knockout quarterfinals on Sunday.
They all now know what to expect and how they have to improve to have a chance at taking out the coveted title of league champions.
Kumul Petroleum PNG Lewa Ravini Oa, with her daughter watching on, had a special Mother’s Day playing for Mambas as the only woman playing in the league.
She played strongly, bowling well in both matches to finishing 30th in the bowling ranks at the end of pool play.
Playing with a heaver and bigger ball than international women’s cricket, Ravini was outstanding against some of the country’s elite batters, including Vala.
The finals start with the knockout quarterfinals at 9am.