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Tigresses conquer Airtel money

Complex Tigresses have become the inaugural champions of the Airtel Money Netball Championship after beating rivals Diamonds 36-31 during a hotly contested final at the Blantyre Youth Centre (BYC) yesterday.

This is the second time, in two months, that Tigresses have underrated Diamonds’ dominance in big competitions after snatching the OG Issa League title a few weeks ago.

The champions celebrate with their trophy on Sunday
The champions celebrate with their trophy on Sunday

Tigresses led in all quarters 9-7, 20-14 and 28-24 before finally taking the crown and the K7 million (about $16 700) winners’ prize.

“We thank Airtel Money for giving us a chance to prove our superiority over Diamonds in this competition. We also thank our sponsors, College of Medicine Sports Complex, for helping us to enhance our fitness,” said Tigresses coach Peace Chawinga-Kalua.

Diamonds coach Griffin Saenda, whose side received K2.5 million ($6 000), congratulated the champions and said they will work hard to win the next event.

However, it was trouble for Central Region teams as their hopes for their first national glory in over a decade went up in smoke when Civonets and Blue Eagles Sisters stuttered in semi-finals.

The so-near-yet-too-far story continued to lurk odiously for the Lilongwe giants as it was once again Blantyre heavyweights Diamonds and Complex Tigresses that made it into the grand finale with 42-38 and 43-42 triumphs respectively.

However, the Eagles seemed most determined among the region’s five representatives as they put Tigresses under pressure throughout their encounter.

The three quarters of the match ended in 10-10, 21-21 and 31-31 ties and it was unpredictable as to who could emerge the winner until Tigresses shooter Sindi Simtowe nailed the winning basket in the last five seconds of the match.

Diamonds also went through back-breaking twinge to unscrew Civonets’ nuts in the other semi-final that saw the home side winning the first, second and third quarters 11-9, 19-18 and 33-26 respectively.

“Losing to Tigresses by a single basket means we are close to ending this title drought at national level,” said Eagles’ coach Sam Kanyenda yesterday.

Eagles beat Civonets 53-42 in the third-placed match to take home the K750 000 (about $1 785) prize.

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