By Edwin Mbewe
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The Malawi Police Service-sponsored team, Blue Eagles netball, has successfully retained their championship title in the MK24 million Mpico Gateway Mall Central Region Netball League, with a game to spare before the season concludes.
Over the weekend, Blue Eagles, who also clinched victory in the inaugural MK40 million Salima Sugar National Netball Tournament by defeating their feeder club, Young Eagles at Don Bosco, secured a resounding 76-12 win over Great Queens and a 43-16 victory against MAFCO Soldiers in what were decisive matches.
These two triumphs were sufficient to secure yet another silverware for the Eagles this season. Their final match will be against rivals Civonets on 11th November 2023 at Gateway Mall Netball Court.
However, this game will be largely ceremonial, as even if they were to lose to Civonets, the Blue Eagles would still be declared champions since the result would have no impact.
Blue Eagles lead the table with 62 points from 31 games, while Civonets are close behind with 58 points from the same number of games and will face off in the last fixture.
Young Eagles, who were the runners-up in the Salima Sugar National Netball Tournament, will be contending for a second-place finish against Civontes, as they currently have 56 points and will be playing against Lioness in their final game.
Young Eagles could secure second place if they win their match by a significant margin and hope that Civonets lose to the Blue Eagles. However, Civonets may still secure the runner-up position due to having scored more goals than the Young Eagles.
In fourth place are the MAFCO Soldiers with 50 points from 32 games.
Blue Eagles netball team coach, Madano Tepetheya, commended his team for their outstanding performance in the league, which enabled them to successfully defend the championship.
He also credited their victory to their feeder team, Young Eagles, for defeating rivals Civonets in the second round of the league.
Tepetheya stated, “I am excited that we have managed to defend the title in the Central Region. It has been an incredible journey, as many teams improved, and it was challenging to win games. We owe our championship to our feeder team, Young Eagles, who defeated our rivals, Civonets.”
“We are dominating netball in the country with our excellent transition play. Look at how Young Eagles performed, finishing as runners-up in the national tournament. This is a clear indication that we are on the right track, and we will continue to promote these young talents to the senior team next season, as some of our players are aging.”
Tepetheya further expressed gratitude to the Malawi Police Service for their unwavering support in developing netball within the service.
Additionally, Tepetheya praised the late former Malawi Netball national team coach, Griffin Saenda, for introducing him to the coaching career, acknowledging that he owes his success to him.
Daniel Chigowo Nyirenda, Vice General Secretary of the Central Region Netball Committee, stated that preparations for the final day are progressing well, and they are eagerly anticipating a colorful event. The committee is scheduled to meet tomorrow for further planning.
Blue Eagles netball team has consistently secured the Mpico Gateway Mall Central Region Netball League championship since its inception in 2016-2017, under different coaches, including Samuel Kanyenda and Cecilia Mtukule.