El Dorado East prevent Bishop’s High netball sweep

El Dorado East Secondary School’s Under-17 netball team defeated Bishop’s High school of Tobago 4-3 in a nail-biting final last month to win the National Schools Championship at the Jean Pierre Complex, Mucurapo.

The finals were held over a two-day period with the Under-13 and Under-15 titles won by Bishop’s High School.

And they were looking for a treble by winning the Under-17 age group but the perennial St George East winners, El Dorado East (Blue Thunder), had a different plan.

After losing to Mucurapo West Secondary 5-3 in the 2016 edition of Champions of Champions, El Dorado, captained by Aliyah Andrews, were determined not to suffer the same fate this year. The team of Kishawner “Smurf” Williams, Tyiesha Croal, Rishana Materdeen, Akeima Estrada, Anna Lisa “Libby” Charles, Brianna Romain, Akeila ONeal and captain Aliyah Andrews put on a good show of hard work and determination to emerge champions.

El Dorado East and Bishop’s High both came into the tournament unbeaten and went through the day’s round robin proceedings with a perfect record to set-up an intriguing final.

With the clock running down and the game tied at 3-3, it was left up to the capable goal shoot, Anna Lisa “Libby” Charles, to bring it home for the girls from the East who edged their rivals with the final shot of the game to prevent a clean sweep from the Tobagonians.

The “El Do” girls, under the guidance of their coach Gillian Williams, were finally able to put the missing piece of hardware in the school’s trophy case.

The 2017 season saw the El Dorado East netball programme continue to grow. For the first time, the school fielded an Under-13 team, as part of the succession plan.

The school’s Under-15 team also won their first St George East title and qualified for their first Champion of Champions where they placed third.