Both of the Pacific teams at the Netball World Cup in South Africa are through to the second stage of eliminations after a tough opening weekend in Cape Town.
Hulita Veve of Tonga pass to Uneeq Palavi during the Netball World Cup 2023 Pool A match between Tonga and Zimbabwe at CTICC Court 2 on July 30, 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa. Photo: Shaun Roy/Gallo Images
The Tonga Tala and the Fiji Pearls had tough tests in their opening pool matches at the Netball World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa on Friday and Saturday.
While Tonga edged Fiji 56-51 in their opening pool match, both teams suffered big defeats against Australia before recording wins against Zimbabwe.
Tonga lost 84-38 to Australia while Fiji were thrashed 101-32 by the world number three.
Both defeated Zimbabwe in their respective meet ups, Fiji winning 52-48 on Saturday night while Tonga won 55-46 on Sunday night, South African time.
The weekend results mean that both Pacific netters have made it out of Group A and into a second stage of eliminations in Group F.
These start tonight with the Tala meeting England and the Pearls taking on Malawi.
The top two teams from Group F and G will advance into the semi-finals, with the winners from that going onto the final.
The losing semi-finalists will play-off for third and fourth positions.
Claris Kwaramba of Zimbabwe and Unaisi Rauluni of Fiji challenge for possession during the Netball World Cup 2023 Pool A match between Zimbabwe and Fiji at Cape Town International Convention Centre Court 2 on July 29, 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa. Photo: Shaun Roy/Gallo Images
Tonga claims second win against Zimbabwe
On Sunday, Tonga shooter Catherine Tuivaiti (Latu) came on court in the last minutes of the victory over Zimbabwe last night and in the process represented her third country having previously played for Samoa and New Zealand.
Zimbabwe started the game well and had Tonga under pressure but the Tala showed some of their own combinations to keep in the game.
Tonga defenders Mo'onia Gerrard and Kelea Iongi made it difficult for the Zimbabwean attacking players to create openings as the game progressed with Tonga going into the break leading 27-24.
The second half of the match was a seesaw battle, with Zimbabwe applying the pressure on Tonga as the Islanders were trying to move through the court and feed the ball into their goal circle.
Tonga's shooters however remained composed and made sure of the chances to score with Unique Palavi leading the way.
As the final 15 minutes began, Zimbabwe found themselves trailing by nine goals. They tried to stage a comeback and cause a possible upset against a team ranked six places higher on the latest world rankings, but the clock was against them.
Fiji thrashed by Australia
Also last night, Australia thrashed the Fijian Pearls 101-32 in their last pool match in Group A.
The Fijians struggled to keep up with the Diamonds from the first quarter.
Australia took control of the game early as Fiji struggled to put some moves together.
The Australians took a commanding 23-9 lead after the first quarter and stretched it to 46-18 by half-time. After the third quarter it was 72-27.
Fijian coach Unaisi Rokoura used the game to test out her combinations and made changes throughout the clash.