Stellar year for netball

By HUXLEY LOVAI
NETBALL Papua New Guinea made great strides this year with the hosting of two invitational tournaments, the first was held at the start of the year in March for the Pepes, while the second was a three-game series against Singapore for the Under-20 national side in July.
Both these tournaments were held in Port Moresby at the Sir John Guise Indoor Complex and the Rita Flynn Netball Courts respectively.
The availability of world-class facilities have allowed Netball PNG to host such international events, raising the profile of the sport in the country.
This year’s Netball PNG’s representative calendar started with the WaterAid Invitational, which saw the Pepes take on Australian state team the Victoria Fury and Singapore in a tri-series.
While the Pepes accounted for Singapore 53-39, their 64-35 defeat at the hands of the Fury was an eye-opener for players and spectators.
Pepes captain Lua Rikis said: “Regardless of the score, our girls did very well, coming together in two weeks and getting our combinations together.
“Hopefully this concept will continue so we, as players, can improve and the fans can see the style of netball played internationally.”
The PNG U20s were able to get much-needed game time against their opponents from Singapore as they prepared for regional qualifiers for the Netball World Youth Cup hosted in Auckland, New Zealand. The Singapore series, played at the Rita Flynn Netball Courts, was won 2-1 by the home team.
Although the women fell short of their goal in qualifying for the Youth World Cup, the future of PNG netball looks bright with rising stars Courtney Abel, Serena Ovia, Japerth Tulapi, Rowena Djengozov and Eloise Vele poised to carry the flag for senior netball in the future.
The representative year was capped off with the Pepes’ participation at the Nations Cup in Singapore.
The Pepes put in a stellar performance to reach the final of the competition, unfortunately PNG lost 65-49 to eventual champions Zambia.
This was the best result for the Pepes since winning the competition back in 2008.
“It has been a challenging time for the board in securing sponsorship and support for our national teams as we prepare to participate in ranking and World Cup qualifying tournaments,” Netball PNG president Julienne Leka-Maliaki said.
Starting next year, Netball PNG will turn their attention towards qualification for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia. The Pepes, who currently sit in 15th position on the world rankings, need to participate in ranking events between now and April in order to make the final 12-team cut-off for the Games.