Holy Family Convent Kurunegala, powerhouses in the Schools Netball arena, proved their all-round ability on their way to claiming the Dialog Junior National Netball title, defeating Kandy Blue by 32 goals to 19 in the final held at the Sports Ministry Grounds in Colombo earlier today.
The tournament was held for a duration of three days, from the 30th of November to the 2nd of December at Torrington.
The girls from Kurunegala dominated right from the word go, going to a 4-goal lead at the end of the 1st quarter, thanks to some accurate shooting from their two shooters. They were never really put under pressure by the Kandy Blues and went into the half time break with a comfortable lead in tact at 16-09.
Dialog power National Netball Championships for 2nd consecutive year
Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provide, Dialog Axiata PLC, continuing in its promise of uplifting sport in Sri Lanka………….
The Kandyans had a better showing in the 2nd half, but they could not get their defense going as HFC continued to keep the score moving. A few crucial intercepts by the HFC defense also helped their cause as they ran out winners by 32 goals to 19.
Score breakdown
| 1st Quarter | 2nd Quarter | 3rd Quarter | 4th Quarter | Final | |
| HFC, Kurunegala | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 32 |
| Kandy Blues | 4 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 19 |
1st Round
The first round of the competition saw 34 teams competing in 4 groups, with the top 4 teams from each of the groups progressing to the Round of 16.
Photos: Dialog Junior National Netball Championship 2019 | Day 1
Teams – Round 1
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| Kegalle B | Kegalle A | Visakha College | Jaffna |
| SL Schools HFC Kurunegala | Kalutara B HFC | Ladies’ College | SL Schools AKBV |
| Playground A Red | Puttalam | Mahaweli | Kurunegala A HFC |
| Playground B Blue | Kurunegala B Kreeda Samajaya | Gampaha | Nuwareliya |
| Matale | Kilinochchi | Galle A | Badulla |
| Monaragala | Ratnapura | Mannar | Vavuniya |
| Polonnaruwa | Kandy B | FTZ A | FTZ B |
| Kandy Blue | Colombo PGS | Colombo A Gateway | Anuradhapura |
| Galle B | Kalutara BV | ||
Road to the Final
After cruising through in top spot in Group A, HFC Kurunegala defeated Puttalam, Colombo A – Gateway and Colombo Net Fire to make it to the finals. Kandy Blue on the other hand overcame Badulla, Kurunegala A – HFC and SLS Kalutara B on their way to the final.
Photos: Dialog Junior National Netball Championship 2019 | Day 2
The 3rd place payoff was also worked off alongside the final, with SLS Kalutara B and Colombo Net Fire going head to head. SLS Kalutara HFC won the close contest 37-33.
Score Breakdown
| 1st Quarter | 2nd Quarter | 3rd Quarter | 4th Quarter | Final | |
| SLS Kalutara B | 9 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 37 |
| Colombo Net Fire | 9 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 33 |
Along with title sponsors Dialog Axiata PLC, the Sri Lanka Netball Federation gave away a few special awards at the end of the event. All coaches from the teams that reached the top 16 were given certificates, while Dialog Axiata came forward to present special trophies to the coaches of the top 3 teams as well.
Individual Awards
Netball Queen (Player of the Tournament) – Hiruni Methma Dayaratne (HFC Kurunegala)
Best Shooter – Uthpala Sajini Ratnayake (HFC Kurunegala)
Best Defender – Sethmi Danoshi (HFC Kurunegala)
Best Centre-court Player – Faiza Feroz (Kandy Blue)
