THE Fiji Baby Pearls failed to make the championship rounds of the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup after they were defeated 35-86 by South Africa in their final pool match in Gibraltar yesterday.
Consequently, the Pearls finished third in Pool D and faced Pool A’s fourth-placed team, Gibraltar at 3am today in the ninth to 16th place play-offs.
The Baby Pearls are led by captain Nina Nakula and features seven locally-based players, of which six are from the Suva Netball Association and one from the Nasinu Netball Association.
In the first quarter, Fiji trailed 5-22, as their opponents set out to secure a firm grip on the match’s progression.
In the second quarter, the deficit continued for the Baby Pearls, trailing 12-44 at half-time.
When the third quarter ended, a 45-point separated the two sides as scores stood at 22-67.
The points gap widened further to a 51-point difference at the end of the fourth quarter with the final score of 35-86.
While the team may have been defeated heavily by the South Africans, they had showcased compelling performances in their previous three matches.
In their first pool match against Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, they won 53-40.
On Monday, they had two pool matches scheduled against Barbados and Malawi.
In the match against Barbados, they won 66-34 and lost to Malawi in a close finish of 51-52.
Meanwhile, in the overall competition, round robin play has ended and competition split up into three different categories which will see teams compete for the first to eighth positions in one category, ninth to 16th in another and 17th to 20th positions for the third category of competition.
The 2025 Netball World Youth Cup began last Friday and will end this Sunday.
