Assad Vala, the HEBOU PNG Barramundis and the Girls Empowerment Through (GET) Kriket Program were announced as finalist for the 2017 SP Sports Awards this week.
HEBOU PNG Barramundis’ captain and batting star, Assad Vala, was named as a finalist for the ‘Male Athlete of the Year’ category, alongside Morea Baru (weightlifting) and Justin Olam (rugby league).
Vala made his mark on the international cricket scene in 2016 after having a stellar year with the bat for the HEBOU PNG Barramundis. He finished the year in second place in the ICC Inter-Continental Cup (ICUP) runs scorers on 559 runs at an amazing average of 93.17 runs after four (4) rounds. Only Ed Joyce (Ireland), former English Test Player, was ahead of him.
He capped off a remarkable year by being appointed captain of the HEBOU PNG Barramundis for the Namibia matches in Port Moresby and the ODI Series in Hong Kong.
He will be vying for his second ‘Male Athlete of the Year Award’ after he won the award at the 2013 SP Sports Awards.
“Assad (Vala) showed his class last year on the international stage, putting himself and PNG on the map on the global cricket stage. To be averaging over 90 runs with the bat in the ICUP is remarkable and showed everyone that is clearly one of the best batsmen in Associate Cricket World,” said Cricket PNG’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Greg Campbell.
The HEBOU PNG Barramundis’ outstanding 2016 year was also recognised and was selected as one of the finalist for the ‘Team of the Year’ category alongside the PNG Kapuls (soccer) and SP PNG Hunters (rugby league), while the Cricket PNG’s Girl’s Empowerment Through (GET) Kriket Program was selected as one of the finalist for the ‘Community Sports Initiative’ category, alongside Hoops for Health (Basketball) and League Bilong Laif (Rugby League).
The GET Kriket Program is a sports development program supported by the Australian Government through the Pacific Sports Partnership Program.
“We are very proud that cricket was named as finalist in three of the categories for the 2017 SP Sports Awards.
“Last year was a challenging but very rewarding at the same time for CPNG both domestically and internationally. We are proud that cricket is represented heavily in the 2017 SP Sports Awards,” concluded Campbell.
The 2017 SP Sport Awards will be held on Saturday, 27th May, at the Stanley Hotel where the winners in all twelve categories will be announced.
This year will mark the 25th Anniversary of the SP Sports Awards, which recognises PNG’s top sporting personalities and teams both on the international and the domestic level.
(12 July 2015; Assad Vala hits a single. ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015. Picture credit: David Maher / ICC / SPORTSFILE)