Media Release
Melbourne, May 10: Keilor Park Football Club Ground in the suburb of Keilor Park, 15 km north-west of Melbourne was the venue of Melbourne Konkan Community’s (MKC) Sports Day 2021 that was filled with much enthusiasm and fanfare. Men’s cricket and Ladies throwball tournaments were held here simultaneously on Sunday, 25th of April 2021 in a fun-filled atmosphere.
Valerian D’Souza began the proceedings of the Event which commenced at 7.30 a.m.with team registrations, after which the MKC President Joe Sequeira welcomed the gathering followed by a short prayer by Gilbert Menezes.Then, team draws for men’s cricket and ladies throwball were conducted and the Event was declared 'Open.'
The cricket teams in the alphabetical order were: Cranbourne Stars led by Lawrence Lobo in red jersies; Coastal Konkans led by Milton Lewis in dotted navy blue/white jersies; Northern Tigers led by Russel Sequeira in orange/whitejersies; Old Monks led by Vijay Rebello in black jersies; Western Warriors led by Valerian D’Souza in navy blue jersies; Westside Bulls led by Jerry Fernandes in blue/orange jersies;
The cricket matches were played in the round-robin-format with three teams each placed under two groups. Coastal Konkans, Cranbourne Stars and Westside Bulls were placed under Group 1; Northern Tigers, Old Monks and Western Warriors were placed under Group 2. Each side played brilliantly giving their all resulting in a tough fight, with a few matches going down to the wire. At the end of it all, theOld Monks and Coastal Konkansdeservedly made it to the finals. In the Finals, the former lifted the trophy in style, thanks to some exceptional batting by Vijay Rebello, who was bestowed with the ‘Man of the Match’ award.
The Ladies throwball which was also played in the round-robin-format had three teams - Cranbourne Stars led by Jennifer Menezes in red jersies; Gully Girls led by Anita Valder in green/black jersies; Westside Firebirds led by Evie Carvalho in navy blue/white jersies;
The final was played between Gully Girls and Cranbourne Stars.With the cheering-tiny-tots dancing and supporters encouraging their respective teams from the sidelines at their court ends, Gully Girls beatthe Cranbourne Stars and walked away with the winner’s trophy in a nail biting finish. They settled scores with the latter for their loss in the tourneyheld in 2019. Sandria Rodrigues of Gully Girls was adjudged the ‘Best Throwball Player’ of the Tournament.
In the Presentation Ceremony ably conducted by Larissa D’Silva the Cricket and Throwball players from each team were honoured with a participation certificate. The winners and the runners-up from the respective teams were handed over the coveted trophies by the sponsors who were present on the occasion. The best batsman trophy was won by Vijay Rebello from Old Monks for his magic with the bat and the best bowler trophy was bagged by Chris Pinto from the same team for returning impressive figures. In addition to this, each individual player from the winning team were given miniature trophies as well. The competitive spirit and the will to win between the teams were incredible and they deserved this felicitation.
MKC working committee members Joe Sequeira, Maxim Rego, Jane D’Souza, Richard Saldanha, Loyal Andrade, Valerian D’Souza, Peter Pircado and Naveen Cardoza put in tremendous efforts and planning, which resulted in the successful culmination of MKC Sports Day 2021. At the end of it all, the Sports Secretary Loyal Andrade proposed the Vote of Thanks and expressed his gratitude to the sponsors, the players, the umpires, the volunteers and well-wishers for making it a memorable day and commended the winners for their superb performance.
The Event was supported by Platinum sponsors – GLMS Smart Solutions, RIDGEWATER Homes, PC Makeovers; Gold Sponsors – Priston Photography, Your Finance Company Pty Ltd; Silver Sponsors – Harcourts Caroline Springs, Wealth Assure, Canute D’Souza & Fly, Claude D’Souza & Fly; Solomon D’Souza & Fly; The lens of Priston Photography captured the action on the field and the sound systems that provided able support throughout the day were provided by Joe Sequeira.
The spirit and enthusiasm of the players and the spectators knew no boundsfrom its commencement until the end. The sumptuous chicken biriyani filled the tummies for lunch along with the mouth-watering dessert that followed. To sum it up, it was not only just a spectacular day of cricket and throwball, but also a platform for families to come, enjoy and spend a day together under the open skies of Melbourne - the undisputable Sporting Capital of Australia, sometimes referred to as the Sporting Capital of the World.
Melbourne Konkan Community Inc (MKC) is a registered association based in Hoppers Crossing, Victoria – Australia. It welcomes all Konkans residing in Melbourne to be a part of this growing community. MKC committee members can be contacted by emailing to mkonkanc@gmail.com. To know more about MKC and our activities, please login to Facebook and LIKE our page or via Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/MelbourneKonkanCommunity.