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Ellina Mhlanga-Senior Sports Reporter
THE Premier Netball League will have an extended break following the postponement of this weekend’s matches to April 15.
The league got underway last month, and matches are played after every two weeks in clusters.
So far, they have played two round of matches and the third round of matches was scheduled for Saturday in Beitbridge.
However, PNL secretary-general Liberty Mhizha said they have agreed to move the games following a request from the clubs to take a break during the Easter holiday.
“Clubs have requested that they enjoy the holiday since most are coming from working backgrounds. So, it was unanimously agreed that we push the bubble to the 15th (of April),” said Mhizha.
The first two rounds of the league games have produced some interesting results that have seen some of the seasoned teams losing some matches.
Defending champions, Platinum Queens’ winning streak came to an end when they lost to Ngezi Platinum in the second-round matches.
The Zvishavane based side were yet to lose a league match since the launch of the PNL in 2021 and have been the title holders since then.
With the league still in its early stages, the reigning champions are looking at bouncing back to their winning ways and have indicated they would want to retain the title and make it three in row.
“We know our mistakes, we know where we went wrong, we know what could be possibly improved on. So, we are definitely going to work on that and see how best we (can) achieve our objective.
“At the end of the day we must retain our championship and losing one game doesn’t really reflect well on us,” said Platinum Queens coach Simbarashe Mlambo after the loss.
ZDF Queens also suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of youthful side, Green Fuel.
Mhizha said the teams continue to improve and are hopeful of the 2023 season.
“We are witnessing great netball from all teams participating in the league. There is no team that I would probably call small as competition is high. The intensity of the games is increasing with each bubble.
“We can talk of the explosive game between Ngezi and Platinum, where Ngezi won,” said Mhizha.
Some of the encounters to look forward to when the games resume includes the game between Platinum Queens and ZDF Queens.
GreenFuel will be up against Ngezi Platinum in what also promises to be an exciting game as both teams pulled upsets against favourites in the previous round of games.
Ngezi, who are currently occupying the top spot on the log table have won all the seven games they have played so far and Green Fuel have also picked maximum points from their six matches.
ZDF Queens and Platinum Queens have lost a game each.
On the other hand, teams like Zupco, City Queens and Mutare City will be chasing for better fortunes as they are yet to pick any points.
Online Reporter