Villagers turn out in numbers for Motu Koita West netball final

HANUABADA villagers turned out in numbers on Saturday afternoon and packed the netball court for the Motu Koita West Netball Association men’s grand final.
Elex Lahara Drifters and Elex Lahara 600, both teams from Elevala, played a competitive first half which ended in a 5-5 stalemate but the Drifters outmatched Elex for a 10-9 win.
Club president Martha Gabina told The National that they were a new club in the competition and winning the men’s grand final was an achievement for them.
“Our men’s team were one of the top teams throughout the season, so I had no doubt about them,” she said.
“I knew they were a strong team and they would make it through the final.
“Their win is a big achievement for us despite our other teams falling short of qualifying for the finals.
“We’ve got another team in the competition, that’s Elex – a team from Gabi and Elevala.
“But since we had other players showing interest to play, I decided to register the Drifters.
“We had a good round, our girls lost the knockouts but our men’s team made it to the final and won.
“I think it’s a really good initiative to have a competition in the community and I commend association president Kori Toua-Navuru.
“She’s done a good job of keeping everyone together throughout the season, all the youths and even our men coming to play, it’s been a good season.”
Toua-Navuru said they had recently introduced the men’s division but it had attracted a lot of interest.