Diamonds, MTL fight for first-round second slot
Defending champions Diamonds and MTL Queens will face off at the Blantyre Youth Centre (BYC) today in a crunch battle that will determine runners-up of the OG Issa Southern Region Netball League’s (SRNL) first round.
This game is everything to both sides that stand at 30 points with a single defeat each. A loss in this encounter will mean creating a six-point deficit against leaders Complex Tigresses, who finished the first round on 36 points, and deflating their chances of winning the league title.
But a draw will play advantage to Diamonds who are currently holding the second slot on the log table due to a better aggregate. They have scored 890 baskets against 160 while the Queens are third after notching 739 baskets and conceding 250.
Moreover, Diamonds have kept a clean record against the Queens in any competition for the last five years and it is up to the Queens to prove that they are no longer underdogs to the perennial league champions.
In an interview yesterday, Diamonds coach Griffin Saenda and MTL Queens team manager Annie Sanga-Kapatuka sounded keen to give their all in this encounter, but they seemed cryptic on how they will approach the game.
“We will take it as any of our normal games. No special preparations,” said Saenda whose side lost 41-28 to Tigresses last weekend.
On her part, Kapatuka said: “All I can say is that we are ready for the fight.”
According to SRNL general secretary Annie Hanjahanja-Billie, the match is scheduled to start at 1pm.
