In October, Netball Australia’s PacificAus Sports Netball Series was held for the second time. The series, which is funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), ran from Sunday, Oct 16 to Friday, Oct 21 at USC Stadium on the Sunshine Coast. Four Pacific Island teams competed for the title, while USC Thunder and an Australian Pathway team also played, but were ineligible for the final.
Every match of the series was live streamed and is available for free on Netball Australia TV.
The competing teams:
FIJI PEARLS
PAPUA NEW GUINEA PEPES
SAMOA TIFA MOANA
TONGA TALA
USC THUNDER
AUSTRALIAN PATHWAY TEAM
DAY 1
SAMOA 52 def AUS PATHWAY 46
(15-8, 11-12, 13-14, 13-12)
USC THUNDER 60 def PAPUA NEW GUINEA 47
(14-12, 13-13, 16-10, 17-12)
TONGA 74 def FIJI 55
(19-10, 16-14, 23-12, 16-19)
DAY 2
AUS PATHWAY 61 def USC THUNDER 46
(14-11, 11-15, 19-11, 17-9)
SAMOA 59 def FIJI 56
(15-12, 11-21, 16-10, 17-13)
TONGA 83 def PAPUA NEW GUINEA 45
(22-11, 25-10, 17-12, 19-12)
DAY 3
AUS PATHWAY 58 def FIJI 34
(14-8, 16-7, 10-12, 18-7)
TONGA 59 def USC THUNDER 39
(16-11, 15-8, 14-8, 14-12)
SAMOA 65 def PAPUA NEW GUINEA 38
(16-10, 18-7, 17-12, 14-9)
DAY 4
TONGA 57 def AUS PATHWAY 46
(18-9, 17-12, 14-9, 8-16)
FIJI 67 def PAPUA NEW GUINEA 46
(13-16, 16-13, 18-8, 20-9)
USC THUNDER 58 def SAMOA 44
(17-10, 14-11, 13-11, 14-12)
DAY 5
AUS PATHWAY 60 def PAPUA NEW GUINEA 45
(20-10, 16-12, 11-10, 13-13)
FIJI 54 def USC THUNDER 50
(9-16, 13-15, 16-10, 16-9)
TONGA 72 def SAMOA 48
(18-15, 16-9, 18-16, 20-8)
Final Ladder:
Tonga – 10 pts
Samoa – 6 pts
Pathway – 6 pts *
Fiji – 4 pts
Thunder – 4 pts *
Papua New Guinea – 0 pts
* Ineligible for final
GRAND FINAL:
TONGA 69 def SAMOA 43
(17-12, 15-13, 16-7, 21-11)
Congratulations to Tonga
Grand Final MVP: Hulita Veve (Tonga)
Series MVP: Alisi Naqiri (Fiji)
