Fiji: are you ready for Battle of Giants semi-finals?

One of the most traditional football tournament of Fiji is set for its decisive weekend; the venue is Churchill Park in Lautoka – the four contesters: Ba, Nadi, Rewa and Suva. The four teams will be looking for the major glory on Sunday, but before they will have the semi-final stage this Saturday (15th Aug) to seal a spot in the grand final.

The first match of the day will see the Delta Tigers taking on the Men in Black; the team coached by Marika Rodu is looking for pride as the midfielder Gabriele Matanisiga stated in interview to Oceania Football Center. Rewa, that is focused on winning the Vodafone Premier League this season, will certainly come as strong as possible to seal a spot in the grand final, counting on players of the caliber of Setareki Hughes and Kavaia Rawaqa.

The Men in Black will finally count on important defender Manasa Nawakula for this clash as the player wa absent in the group stage in the previous weekend. Top-player Saula Waqa was suspended for three years after testing positive for prohibited substance and will be missing the next matches of Ba as the team appealed against his suspension expecting to count on him as soon as possible. Despite Waqa’s absence, the always important Samuela Drudru willbe there to guide Ba’s attack against a well-structured defense led by Peniame Drova.

The second match of the day will see Avinesh Suwamy‘s captained side Nadi against the stellar squad of Suva. The team coached by Babs Khan will be missing the young Solomon Islander Patrick Taroga while important players such as Christopher Wasasala and Nickel Chand are still in doubts for the game due minor injuries sustained in group stage last weekend. The decision is set to be taken moments before the match – it is upon Suva’s medical staff if the players will be available or not. While Suva is worried possible absences, defender Laisenia Raura is expected to led the defensive system of the team, while captain Ravnesh Karan Singh will led the troops upfront in one of the team’s most important match of the season.

Nadi is still also waiting the decision on attackers Napolioni Qasevakatini and Rusiate Matarerega; both players are also injured, but Nadi’s staff is expecting they will be recovered in time to take any impact in today’s match against Suva. The top scorer of the tournament so far is the legendary Avinesh Suwamy, that on interview to Oceania Football Center stated that Nadi is ready for the clash and expects a major win for his side.

The first match of the day between Ba and Rewa will kick-off at the 2pm while the second semi-final will start at 4pm in Lautoka. All teams will have another match tomorrow as Battle of Giants also has a 3rd/4th playoff contest between the losing sides of the semi-final stage.