| Fadhil Yunus |
HER Royal Highness Princess Fadzilah Lubabul Bolkiah guided Ivy League to the final of the Royal Brunei Police Force Sports Council Netball Open Championship which finished 16-12 to eventual winners Target at the Multi-Purpose Hall of the Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium at the Police HQ yesterday.
The two pre-tournament favourites booked their berth in the championship decider as group winners after producing a clean sweep of victories.
Target carried better momentum in the final with their series of comprehensive victories while Ivy League faced a minor scare against Sixty Nine 69 and Varsity en route to the final.
The eventual winners fashioned a 3-0 lead in the opening minutes before Ivy League pulled one back and a good block from Target’s goal defence prevented their opponents to close the gap.
Target’s Nurafiqah Samat showed agility to prevent the ball from rolling out of play and assisted her team-mate through an airborne throw who made no mistake with the first basket of the game.
Nurafiqah, who inspired B.T Forwarding to the Inter Company Netball Tournament title earlier this year, converted a penalty to make it 4-1.
Ivy League’s scorer made amends after missing a few throws to reduce the deficit but an in-form Nurafiqah would extend Target’s lead.
Her Royal Highness Princess Fadzilah Lubabul Bolkiah poses with the prize. – KHAIRIL HASSAN
The national player survived a major scare after colliding with Ivy League defensive players but as soon as she got back her feet she further extended her team lead with two more conversions.
However, Ivy League refused to budge and their player found form shooting three successful attempts in quick succession.
Target increased their lead again in a see-saw battle after a perfectly executed centre pass just when Ivy League looking to have settled into the flow of the game.
But with Target increasing the pressure in the second quarter, there were little time for Ivy League to stage a late comeback as the former closed out with a fine victory.
Target has developed a certain likeness of the court there after following up their success in the Intermediate Ladies Netball Tournament at the turn of the year while Ivy League was denied another title after winning the 1st Ladies 2016 Netball Championship in February.
Meanwhile, Sixty Nine 69 grabbed third place after defeating Zero 1 16-10 in the playoff after both teams had finished respective group runners-up.
A total of 12 teams participated in the one-day tournament including hosts Royal Brunei Police Force Sports Council, Varsity, Cosmic, 10 Plus Squad, Skidz United, Sunshine Netterz, Sakura and Team X.
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