Teams defer shield challenge

 By PETER WARI
THE Heli Solution Shield match scheduled for last Sunday at Joe Keviame Oval, Mendi, has been deferred to the second encounter between Hela Wigmen and Mendi Muruks due to the funeral service of the late Anderson Agiru.
Co-owner and pilot, captain James Pima, made the announcement after the body of late Agiru was brought to Mendi for the funeral service at Momei Oval.
He said Heli Solution and the people of Southern Highlands were in mourning and respected the ‘great leader’ so the match was deferred .
The shield will be contested in the next Digicel Cup encounter of the teams.
The franchises have locked horns twice before, with the Muruks walking away winners.
For last year’s game, the Muruks walked away with K15,000, while the Wigmen received K5000, K1000 was awarded to the man-of-the-match, and K10,000 was given to each team to award the best player during the course of their Digicel Cup campaign.
“Hela and Southern Highlands are brethren; nothing will separate them,” Pima said.
“My firm believes that and is using sports as a catalyst for development.
“Sports can contribute to development in many different ways with the most important being its part in bringing about social change,” he said.
Pima said sports could trigger mutual respect and understanding among athletes, supporters and through role models, promote leadership and reach out to youths.
The Muruks have produced arguably their best performance to thrash Wigmen twice to walk away with the Heli Solution Shield.
For this year’s match, the Wigmen are keen on revenge and repaying their losses by a big margin.