15 hours Ago By Marcia Negri
CLAIMING the Premier Division title in the Public Servant’s Netball Competition the week before only ignited the Bank of PNG 1 team as they claimed their Division 2 title in the Private Companies Netball Competition last Sunday at the Rita Flynn Courts. The win should now elevate them to the Premier Division next season. BPNG, who was following closely behind Post-Courier at the beginning of the season, managed to come through and seal their dominance in first place, and left nothing in the tank, with a 20-4 demolishing over a hapless Boroko Motors in the grand final on Sunday.
The maroons proved to be a much more dominant side, and having PNG Pepes representative Shannaz Apelis in the goal shooting circle with Ruth Jethro made a huge difference. It was a one-sided affair, with Boroko Motors chances at scoring being limited throughout the encounter. Skipper Anitha Jonathan said every year they have made a grand final appearance after joining in 2018.
“Overall, in the competition, within the association, BPNG has been the best team. I say this because since our inception into the association, we have won all our games, including all the grand finals up to now. “So, we are now looking forward to the Premier Division,” she added.
“We started in Division 16 and made our way up to Division 2,” she said. She said the ladies are the same that play both in the PSNC on Saturday’s and then the PCNC on Sunday’s. Against Boroko Motors, they managed to use all their 13 players.
She further said they have well-balanced team and they do take their training seriously. The player that stood out for them, apart from the obvious in Apelis, was their goal-keeper Vicky Gena. “She’s a spouse to a staff member.
“Vicky managed to pull off a lot of turnovers to ensure we had control of the match,” she added. She further acknowledged the management of BPNG, who have been very supportive plus the role of their coach..
