Apia, Samoa, July 10, 2019 – Wednesday saw completion of the first elimination round and the identification of the final 8 men’s and women’s teams for the 2019 Samoa Pacific Games in Apia. The rain and strong sun of the first two days made way for clouds and high humidity.
In the men’s event, Tuvalu, Tonga, Australia and Samoa went straight through to the round of final eight, while American Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati and Tahiti won their matches to make up the final 8. The afternoon matches were between Palau’s (Edson Ngiraiwet / Texxon Taro) and Kiribati’s (Talaika Manuera / Rooti Ioakim) with some amazing long rallies that had the local crowd standing and cheering both teams as the match neared its conclusion. This was closely followed by another enthralling 3-set contest between Vanuatu (Toares / Aru) and Tahiti (Ena / Paraue) where Tahiti’s domination at the net proved the difference.
In the women’s competition, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, Marshall Islands, Vanuatu and American Samoa had the bye into the second round, with New Caledonia, Australia and the Solomon Island girls forming the final 8. The last match of the day featured the Samoan pair (Tumua Uelese / Emalini Toleafoa) against the in-form Solomon Island team (Rose Gwali / Hannah Donga).
In a full stadium filled with a boisterous local crowd, the Solomon women easily accounted for their opposition. Rose found an exciting consistency that saw Solomon Islands take an early lead that was never breached.
Related links of AVC
AVC Website: click www.asianvolleyball.net
AVC Facebook: click www.Facebook.com/AsianVolleyballConfederation
AVC Twitter: click: https://twitter.com/avcvolley
AVC Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/avcvolley/?hl=en
AVC Youtube: click: Asian Volleyball Confederation
AVC WeChat: Asian Volleyball Confederation