Fiji v Trinidad & Tobago. 21 September 2025 Photo: Facebook / World Netball / Mark Rodriguez
Mixed results for Pacific Island teams at the Netball World Youth Cup (NWYC) 2025 tournament in Gibraltar as the competition moves towards its final rounds of pool matches.
Both Fiji and the Cook Islands have managed two wins each in their pools, while Samoa has one.
Tonga is the only team among the four island teams that has yet to register a win.
The results for both Fiji and the Cook Islands mean they have the chance of finishing in the top two of their respective pools.
Fiji was leading Pool D on Monday after two good wins over Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, but have since dropped to number three following their one-point loss to Malawi.
Fiji defeated Trinidad and Tobago 53-40, and Barbados 66-34.
Played at the Europa Sports Complex, the contest against Malawi was a fast-paced and physical battle, with each team scoring tit-for-tat.
Malawi edged ahead in the opening spell before the Baby Pearls fought back to take a narrow 26-25 lead at halftime.
Fiji extended their advantage in the third quarter, heading into the final break up 41-36.
The last quarter proved decisive as Malawi mounted a comeback, drawing level in the closing minutes and the Baby Pearls conceded to defeat in the end , drawing Malawi level at 51-all into the last 30 seconds of the game.
Malawi made use of their restart and netted the winner just before the final hooter sounded, sending Malawi players rolling around on the court in celebration.
Although the Fijians are tied with South Africa and Malawi on four points each, the two African sides have two games each still be played, with the Fijians facing South Africa in their final game on Wednesday night.
To qualify for the top two and go into the quarterfinals Fiji must beat South Africa.
South Africa and Malawi have two wins each to their names at the moment and they batte off on Wednesday morning.
If Fiji beats South Africa on Wednesday night they can still finish as the second best team in the pool.
New Zealand v Cook Islands. New Zealand v Cook Islands. 21 September 2025 Photo: Facebook / World Netball / Mark Rodriguez
Cook Islands started their campaign in Pool A, with a big 74-29 win over Gibraltar on Saturday before they fell to New Zealand 74-47 on Sunday night.
They managed to beat Malaysia 66-44 on Monday night, leaving them at number two in Pool A, sharing four points each with New Zealand.
Cook Islands also gets two points from their scheduled game against Zambia, who along with Sri Lanka, have been dropped from the event because they have not turned up.
World Netball (WN) has withdrawn both teams for the remainder of the competition.
Samoa, in Pool B, lost 51-49 to Scotland in their opening game, but sprung back to life on Monday night, proving too strong for Singapore, winning 62-41.
That result gave them third spot in Pool C, with Australia and Northern Ireland as their last two opponents.
Their chance of winning a top two spot is tough as Scotland has won two of their three pool matches so far, with one against Singapore where they will be favourites to win well.
Tonga has struggled in their pool matches so far.
The Junior Tala side went down 58-40 to Wales on Saturday in their opener, before suffering the same fate at the hands of Jamaica, who won their clash 66-43.
Tonga will face England in their last pool game and will get full points for the game against Sri Lanka, as the Sri Lankans were unable to make it to the tournament in time.
Following the completion of pool matches, teams will fight for placings, the top two in each pools going into the Cup play-offs in the top eight, while the third and fourth placed teams go into the play-offs for ninth to 16th, with the fifth placed teams fighting off for 17th to 20th positions.
