Gisborne to contest 13th place at netball tourney

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Gisborne beat Dunedin by a goal to advance to the 13th/14th playoff at the Netball New Zealand Open Championships in Palmerston North.

They were to play Taranaki at 10am today in their last game at the tournament.

Yesterday aftgernoon Gisborne beat Dunedin 29-28.

Dunedin led 10-7 at the end of the first quarter but at halftime the teams were level, 17-all. Dunedin had pulled ahead by four, 24-20, at the three-quarter mark.

In the last quarter, Gisborne picked up a lot of turnovers on defence, and it was 27-all with three minutes to go.

The whole team stepped up a notch and worked together well in that final quarter. The ball was going up and down the court several times before goals were being scored. It made for exciting fare for the spectators.

Just on fulltime, Gisborne goal keep Keasi Fonohema intercepted a ball going in to the Dunedin shooter, which kept Gisborne in front and averted the need for extra time.

Fonohema had a good game, creating many turnovers through her tips and intercepts, and the pressure she put on the shooters.

Regardless of the result of this morning’s game, Gisborne finish ahead of Rotorua, Dunedin, Manawatu B, Hawke’s Bay, Hutt Valley and Mangere/Otahuhu.