Kinoya backs Blackhawks

The Blackhawks men’s volleyball team play in today’s Marist Volleyball tournament with the full backing of the Kinoya community. The side are one of the top favourites for the two- day competition and is one to watch having the likes of national volleyball reps Makiti Raratabu, Rupeni Cokomata and Peter Jeremiahs.

MORAL BOOSTER

Blackhawks manager Rosa Dalituicama said the team would be out in full force and having the community support is a real morale booster. “We’ve been blessed to have the support of the Kinoya Old Boys Association (K.O.B.A) and the entire Kinoya community rallying behind the boys,” Dalituicama said. “On Wednesday, there was a dedication church service organised for the team and their families with members of the community in attendance. “We’ve also partnered with the Kinoya Community Post and Valelevu Police Station to curb and raise awareness on crime in the area so we have their support too and we’re very grateful.”

PREPARATION

The team have been preparing since December last year and are anticipating an exciting battle. They lost out in the quarterfinals last year to Marist. “The team is very excited to be participating at their 5th Marist tournament. Last year we lost out to Marist in the quarterfinal and we’re working on progressing further this year.

“We are working on our defence, we have had practice matches against Raiwaqa , Nasinu, Vesida and Mid Central. “The boys have been working hard and are confident of a good outing this weekend but we’ll take it one game at a time and we don’t want to underestimate anybody,” she added.

The Marist Volleyball tournament starts today at the Vodafone Arena in Suva.

The defending champions are Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) for the women’s category while Marist for the mens.