All the teams turned up for a good start this morning and from the banter among players, they just wanted to get on with it and enjoy a day of good netball without the bickering. That was not to be and a late start inevitably meant an afternoon completion to proceedings, but once the games got under way, the ladies, to their credit, really got on with it and the only thing missing was a noisy, cheering crowd and the carnival atmosphere normally associated with this period in a competition.
This and next weeks semi finals establishes which teams will contest the PSNA grand finals. Today's results saw the retirement of the loser between 4th and 3rd placed teams in the comp, while the 1st and 2nd placed teams did battle for the right to advance automatically to the grand final in two weeks. Next week the losers of today's major quarter finals play the winners of today's minor quarter finals for the right to be the other grand finalist.
NFA booked their spot in the PSNA premier division grand final with
very close win over Telikom 18 - 17
Finance (in green) will meet Telikom in next weeks semi final
Today's premier division games provided the most interesting match-ups with minor premiers, Telikom upset by a very collected NFA side. Their almost casual manner was impressive, turning around a 8-10 deficit at the break to run out winners 18-17. Stung by this outcome, the ladies in blue will now have to assess their performance carefully as when it comes to a chance to secure a grand final berth, Finance may not be all that willing to stand aside next week. In the earlier game, Finance put NBC's season to the sword with a comfortable 24-14 win and must be considering their chances against Telikom as good as any .
Teams advancing directly to the grand finals after this week are;
Prem - National Fisheries Authority having beaten Telikom 18 - 17
Div 1 - Dept of Works after beating the Didimeris 19 - 15
Div 2 - Dept of Labour after their close call with PNG Power 24 - 23
Div 3 - "Result Pending"
Div 4 - Mineral Resources Authority when they defeated National Gaming Board 20 - 19
Div 5 - Dept of Justice after a comfortable win over Commerce and Industry 23 - 13
National Fisheries Authority through to the premier division grand final for 2010
Department of Works, also through to this years Div 1 grand final
Department of Labour book their place in the Div 2 grand final for 2010
Next week's Semi Finals will be as follows
Premier Div - Telikom v Finance
Division 1 - Didimeri's v Ombudsmen Commission Eagles
Division 2 - PNG Power v Telikom 2
Division 3 - Winner of disputed game v NBC 2
Division 4 - National Gaming Control Board v Dept Commerce & Industry
Division 5 - Dept of Commerce & Industry 2 v Hahediba
The winner of these games advance to the grand final.
As expected, the outcome of the Div 3 game between PNG Sports Commission and IOPP is now subject to a review by the match committee. Until a formal confirmation has been received, the game will remain as "result pending". The score card as recorded by match officials at full time was Sport Commission 22 defeating IOPP 21, however a player legibility query at half time by the Sport Commission on one of IOPP's players resulted in the IOPP making a counterclaim. The match committee is expected to deliberate on the matter and advise all concerned during the early part of next week.
The number of close scores today made these finals especially interesting and would have had to be heart wrenching for teams such as Treasury who gave up a 4 net advantage at half time to lose their match to NBC, 19 - 18. University in their Div 5 encounter with Hahediba just could not convert in time to arrest a 15 - 16 loss to Hahediba. Another nail biter had to be PNG Powers loss to Labour a real "to the wire" encounter for Power ladies, but at least they live to fight another day and are still a chance to contest the Div 2 grand final.
Two other matches including that between IOPP and Sports were also closely contested today. The fulltime scoreline for the IOPP/Sports game was 22 - 21 in favour of Sports. The other was the main premier division match which will go into the record books for several things, firstly for the 18 - 17 scoreline, the drama of the minor premiers being toppled at the post and the fact that the NFA were only promoted to the premier division this year. To make it to the grand final in their first year is quite an achievement in itself and deserving of all the accolades given them. It will be hotly contested grand final this year.
It was a great day at the courts today. Next week will be even better so bring your friends and be a supporter for the day. Expect the sparks to fly and the passions to flare as it will be a series of hot contests to work out who is going to have the chance to be divisional champions of the PSNA.
So how did the teams look on the court today? This is just a sample of what to expect when the gallery is posted on Monday.
Div 3 - Treasury v NBC 2
Div 4 - Commerce (blue) v Community Development (maroon)
Div 5 - University (yellow bibs) v Hahediba (light blue bibs)
Div 3 - Sports Commission (green and black) v IOPP (blue)
Div 4 - MRA (Green and Blue) v NGCB (black and yellow)
Div 5 - Commerce & Ind (Green) v Attorney General and Justice (black and white)
Premier Div - Finance (green) v NBC 1 (maroon)
Div 1 - Ombudsman Commission (green and white) v NCDC (green and yellow)
Div 2 - BPNG (maroon tops) v Telikom 2 (navy blue tops)
Premier Div - Telikom (bark blue) v NFA (mottled light blue)
Div 1 - Didimeri's (bright yellow tops) v Works (blue bibs)
Div 2 - PNG Power (maroon) v Dept of Labour (blue)
The images above are just some from the album we hope to have posted perhaps on Monday afternoon so keep an eye out on this page for when we are likely to update our galleries.
Here's one for the NBC girls who were keen to show their pleasure at beating Treasury today and one also for the PNG Power girls who wanted a team picie to have something to remember the day with.
NBC adding some passion to their close win against Treasury
PNG Power's team today will be back for next weeks semi final
Once the issue between IOPP and Sports has been settled Near the Hoop should have a full schedule of games for your information posted on these pages. To those reading this page and are able to make it to the courts next Saturday, do so because there will be some real serious netball played at Bisini.
Congratulations to the teams that have made it into the Grand Finals in two weeks, commiserations to those that lost today and good luck to those playing next week.
See you at the courts next Saturday......
Near the Hoop
PNG's only Netball Newspaper
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