Kabara created history yesterday, winning its inaugural National Easter Cricket tournament title at Albert Park in Suva yesterday.
The side which reached the final for the first time defeated Komo by seven wickets in a heated battle that had their enthusiastic supporters on their feet.
Supporters of both teams turned up in numbers and made their presence felt with endless cheers and singing. Kabara manager Volau Baleyaga shared his excitement after the three-hour match.
“We have been vying for this Shield for the last 10 years but we’ve always fell short,” he said.
“This is a very young team compared to the other sides competing here. We’ve never reached the final let alone the semi-final and we were able to achieve both targets including the shield through sheer dedication and we thank God for guiding us to victory.”
Majority of the players came from Kabara Island in the Lau group and the sail to Suva was not smooth at all.
“We faced a lot of challenges before we came, there were a lot of talks among other things but amidst the doubt, the team stood in solidarity knowing that behind those hurdles lays the sweet victory that we thirst for.
“I commend our boys for their persistent spirit. We were grouped in a tough pool with some of the giants of the sport, we played every day without a bye but the players stood up to the challenge and delivered until the very last day to win the top prize,” Baleyaga added.
Kabara will return to the mainland in three months time to compete in the inaugural Super 8 tournament.
Meanwhile, Moce won the third place play-off beating Namuka-i-Lau by 26 runs.
