The Netball World Youth Cup 2017 (NWYC2017) Oceania Qualifiers commenced yesterday at Netball North Harbour in Auckland.
The Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga are vying for the top 3 positions which will qualify them to compete in next years NWYC2017 in Gaborone, Botswana.
The first game of the day between Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Netball Northern - who are involved as a filler-team only - ended up with a win for Netball Northern, defeating PNG with a 56-point gap, 28-84.
Fiji also came away with a win with a score of 55-34 against Tonga.
Round 1 finished off with a tight game between Samoa and the Cook Islands, 30-all at the 60-minute mark. However, it was the Cook Islands who managed to create a 5-point gap during extra time with a final score of 37-42.
Round 2 saw Netball Northern take another win against the Cook Islands, 52-36, and Papua New Guinea showing improvement in play with a defeat against Tonga, 65-33.
PNG coach Unaisi Rokoura was delighted for her team to come away with a win.
“We had a really good start, they played really well today. It’s our first qualifier and this win will really lift the morale of the team for the next game. The girls delivered.”
After a shaky start, Fiji enjoyed their second win of the day, defeating Samoa 47-33. Former Silver Ferns assistant coach and Australian captain Vicki Wilson, commented on how proud she is of her team.
“I think we’ve got a very good chance of making the top 3. I’m just delighted with what they’re able to do.”
“We had a very good opening quarter [against Tonga] and what pleased me was they were prepared to try things that we’ve been doing at training. They were very tenacious in defence and they like to challenge for that loose ball.”
Day 2 will commence this afternoon with the tournament finalising on Thursday evening.