Rain spoils Diamonds, MTL Queens battle
Rain showers that hit Blantyre Youth Centre (BYC) on Saturday forced the OG Issa Southern Region Netball League (SRNL) match between Diamonds and MTL Queens to shift to a later date.
The game was stopped almost five minutes before the end of the third quarter when Diamonds led 19-12.
According to netball rules, when a game ends like this, the match has to start all over again on their next meeting, but the two sides and the SRNL have agreed to continue from where they stopped.
“Both teams have signed an agreement that the game will continue from the time it was called off. Therefore, the match will go on from 10 minutes 44 seconds in the third quarter. We are yet to decide on the actual date for the replay,” said SRNL general secretary Annie Hanjahanja-Billie.
Diamonds assistant coach Noel Mussa and MTL Queens team manager Annie Sanga-Kapatuka confirmed that they have indeed signed an agreement on the matter.
The face-off between the two sides signals the beginning of elimination battles for title-chase among the league’s giants. Records show that a team that loses a single match in the league, among defending champions Complex Tigresses, Diamonds and MTL Queens eventually misses the title at the end of the season.
Last season, a single loss to Tigresses in the first round cost Diamonds the league title, which they had been keeping since 2009. Currently, each of the three outfits has 18 points from six straight wins and they share the top-three spots on the 12-team log-table respectively.
Tigresses top the ladder due to better basket difference.
In other encounters last weekend, Prison Sisters strengthened their stand on the fourth slot after thrashing Chilomoni Sisters 61-26. They now have 18 points from eight games. Shizaella Sisters, who now have 15points from 11 games, also consolidated their fifth position with a 40-35 triumph over 10th placed Gold Sisters.
Alliance Capital Stars are eighth with nine points from five fixtures after beating Gold Sisters 38-26.
