You may remember that back in April, Unicaf University sponsored the Lilongwe Urban Netball Committee in the amount of 2.5 Million MWK with the aim of hosting a netball tournament. Well, the Unicaf University Netball Tournament, played at the Gateway Mall, turned out to be a rip-roaring success with the participation of 12 teams from around the Lilongwe Urban section.
After a thrilling season which began in May, the twelve teams battled it out during the summer months in order to win the prestigious netball trophy plus prize money of 400,000 MWK. The final whistle was blown on the 20th of August with a nail-biting deciding match between the expected finalists, Civo Nets and rivals Blue Eagles Sisters.
Both teams played an exceptional game, displaying their skills on the court, however, the Blue Eagles Sisters took an early 9-7 lead in the first quarter of the match. Not to be outmanoeuvred, Civo Nets fought back with some tactical play, ending the first half of the game at an extremely entertaining, yet tension-fuelled, 13-13.
The second half brought more thrills, chills, and excitement when Civo Nets continued their winning streak. The Blue Eagles Sisters fought back valiantly exhibiting some seriously sharp on-court moves but in the final analysis, Civo Nets took the match by an unbelievable one point. The final score came in at 25-24.
The General Secretary of the Central Region Netball Committee, Yamikani Kauma said she was “impressed with the level of competition in the league. The teams performed beyond our expectations. Secondly, the league has also unearthed several players and we give our thanks to Unicaf University for this gesture.”
Unicaf University Vice Chancellor, Dr Robert Ridley, in a post-match interview, stated that “this tournament has helped create a partnership between Unicaf University and the Lilongwe Urban Netball Committee and also with Central Region Netball Committee and the Netball Association of Malawi.”
Dr Ridley stressed that this partnership “will help improve opportunities for those interested in Netball and also support the development of Netball nationally.” Additionally, he cited the interest of the people attending the event, both players and spectators, in studying with Unicaf University to further their qualifications as one example of how this partnership is extremely important.
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