Fijians out to avenge Samoa heartbreak – Wilson

Fiji beat Sri Lanka today to set up a repeat of one of the most dramatic games of the tournament so far: they will now play Samoa for the right to finish 13th, having lost out to them by a single goal earlier on in the competition.

Fiji – through Lydia Panapasa – thought they had levelled proceedings up in the final seconds on that occasion, but the goal was adjudged to have been scored just too late to count, meaning that Samoa took a 55-54 victory.

“There are always thoughts of revenge – we want to win,” said Wilson, after her team’s victory over Sri Lanka.

“To be the best team in that Oceania region – apart from New Zealand – is something we’ve been wanting and been talking about, so if we can achieve that it would be great.

“A day’s rest and a good recovery is what we need now, and then we look forward to having that opportunity to battle it out with Samoa again.”

Today’s 59-44 victory was Fiji’s second in the tournament after their win over Singapore yesterday, and Wilson is delighted with the way her team have grown into their task.

She added:

“I’m really pleased. We’ve been getting better with every game, which was what we came in wanting achieve. I thought defensively today we got a lot more ball, and that put us in a great position going into that second half.”

On the injuries suffered by Panapasa and Episake Kahatoka, Wilson added:

“I haven’t spoken to the medical team yet, so fingers crossed they’re not too serious.”