Diamonds extend Rainbow Paints Netball lead
Defending champions Kukoma Diamonds thrashed Prison Sisters 61-31 and Serenity Stars 67-24 last weekend to extend their lead at the summit of the Rainbow Paints Blantyre and Districts Netball League (BDNL) with 12-straight wins.
The 30-basket triumph in Zomba on Saturday, coupled with a 43-basket victory over Serenity at the Blantyre Youth Centre (BYC) on Sunday, leaves the table-toppers on course to claim the title for the third successive season.
They have now created a four-point gap at the summit of the 10-team table and they will automatically retain the league glory if they win four of their six remaining games.
Despite missing the services of their star shooter Alinafe Kamwala, who sneaked out to Tanzania to feature for Immigration team in a national championship, Diamonds remained lethal in attack due to the shooting prowess of Jessica Mazengera-Sanudi and Grace Chazungulira.
“We know we are close to retaining the title, but we will not let complacency spoil our determination to have a 100 percent winning record at the end of the season,” said Diamonds assistant coach Noel Mussa.
Thunder Queens thumped Polytechnic Sisters 64-14 and Chilomoni Sisters 71-28 at the BYC on Sunday to move two places up to second place with 20 points from 12 games while Tigresses have slipped to fourth place despite beating Shizaella Queens 70-23. They are tied on 18 points with Prison, who are third due to superior basket difference.
According to BDNL general secretary Annie Hanjahanja-Billie, they expect to wind up the league fixtures by the end of October to avoid colliding with the rainy season, which makes playing on outdoor court difficult.
