PNG go down to Cook Islands in netball youth cup qualifier
Papua New Guinea lost to Cook Islands 45-63 last night at the Netball World Youth Cup Qualifier Oceania at the National Sports Arena in Nikao.
The PNG Under-21 side, despite keeping a close race in the first two quarters, couldn’t maintain the momentum in second half as host country using crowd advantage overpowered PNG to claim the opening match.
The tournament which started yesterday has converged Tonga, Samoa, PNG, Fiji and hosts Cook Islands, who are competing for a spot in the youth world cup next year.
Fiji have already secured their space in the major event and are partaking as a non-competitive team in the Oceania qualifier.
The PNG national team guided by head coach Oti Lasagavibau and assistant Renagi Mulina showed up and delivered to expectations but costly errors and missed shots, found them trailing all throughout the game.
The home side took a narrow 17-14 lead at the end of first frame and extended the scoreline to 35-21 at halftime before gaining full control at 51-31 in third quarter.
PNG coaches managed different shooting combinations and lineup but fell short to a more confident team who were composed in attack and defence in front of their home fans.
The Junior Pepes outfit showed resilience in the final quarter, but the Cook Islands kept the momentum, running away with the win.
Despite the loss, PNG Netball was satisfied with the performance and signaled to respond when they face Samoa.
“The loss will be a loss if we don't learn from it. So, we will regroup and go harder tomorrow,” the federation shared on its social media platform.
Meanwhile, Samoa beat Tonga 51-45 in a watchful contest to kick off of the tournament with a floury start.
Fixtures: September 17: Tonga vs CK Islands- 5 pm; Fiji vs Samoa- 7.15 pm; September 18: PNG vs Samoa- 5 pm; Tonga vs Fiji- 7.15 pm; September 19: Fiji vs PNG- 5 pm; Samoa vs CK Islands 7.15 pm; September 20: CK Islands vs Fiji- 5 pm; PNG vs Tonga- 7.15 pm; September 21: yet to be finalised.