Samoa outplayed the Fiji Pearls in a highly intense and physical affair, winning 64-55 on day two of the PacificAus Sports Netball series at the Gold Coast Sports & Leisure Center last night.
Both teams were competitive in defense, with Fiji’s Vakaoca Bolakoro and Sereana Maragi working well together to confuse Samoa’s feeders, while Samoa’s Lenora Misa disrupted Fiji’s attack with her strategic play on the other end of the court.
At the end of the first quarter, Samoa had a narrow two-goal lead, with a score of 15-13. The second quarter saw a back-and-forth battle, with both teams taking turns in the lead. However, Samoa pulled ahead and entered halftime with a five-goal advantage – 33-28.
Credit goes to Samoa’s shooting duo of Papi Alaalatoa and Abigail Latu-Meafou as well, who missed two goals each in the entire game. Samoa won the third quarter 15-13 and extended their lead in the fourth to secure a nine-goal victory.
This marks Fiji’s second consecutive loss in the tournament, following their defeat to Malawi 47-54 in their opening game on Monday night.
Fiji will face Papua New Guinea in their remaining Pool A game scheduled for 5:30 PM Fiji Time today. Both Fiji and PNG are currently winless, with PNG having lost their opening two matches against Samoa (48-66) and Malawi (49-64).
In the other match scheduled for tonight, Malawi and Samoa will face off to determine the winner of Pool A. Regardless of the outcome, both Samoa and Fiji will progress to the semi-finals on Saturday.
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Photo: Netball Fiji
