Tonga’s netball team were only one point away from winning a Gold medal in a 44 - 43 loss against the Cook Islands in a thrilling final of the Pacific Games netball competition in Samoa on July 19.

The Silver medal tops off a successful campaign by Tonga’s netballers who were considered underdogs going into the tournament.

In their opening match against the Solomon Islands on 15 July, team Tonga dominated the scoreboard with a 94 – 24 victory. They would later achieve the largest score margin of the tournament with a 142 – 11 victory over American Samoa.

Gold medal contention was achieved after a hard fought 48 – 44 upset win over hosts Samoa who had won a bronze at the 2015 Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea.

The final game was a seesaw affair with both teams exchanging leads throughout the match. Tonga appeared to have the upper hand and were leading at halfway point by 26 – 22. In the final minute, the score was deadlocked before a goal was scored by the Cook Islands in the dying seconds of the game.

“It was a beautiful game of netball, played by two extremely talented Pacific teams. We have so much natural talent in the Pacific”, Cook Island coach Ariana Andrews-Tasola told local media following the game.