Guyana’s premier male and female hockey teams have all advanced to the semi-final round of the ongoing Diamond Mineral Water Indoor Hockey Festival slated for the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) today.
The Guyanese, who stormed through the preliminary round of the Festival, will have to face Trinidadian teams that also made semi-final bookings.
The male division will see Pepsi Hikers doing battle against Bounty GCC – an all Guyanese match – while in the other semi-final, defending champions Trinidad’s Queens Park will face off against locals Old Fort.
Hikers are solid picks to cop this year’s title having shown ominous form throughout the Festival which included a 4-3 win over Queens Park on Friday evening.
Meanwhile, the female semis will see Trinidad and Tobago’s Ventures, who topped the table after they defeated GBTI CGG 4-2 in their final round match yesterday, playing against Woodpecker Hikers in the first semi-final.
Hikers, who were recently crowned with the female national title, surprisingly endured a torrid run during the group stages and finished fourth to sneak their way into the semis by defeating Shandy Carib Magnolia 4-3 in their final round match.
Maria Munroe contributed significantly to the triumph with two strikes past the upright.
The other female semi-final match will see defending champions GCC, one of the pre-tournament favourites, facing off against Mags.
The over-35 semis will see GCC Vintage going up against Old Fort while Queens Park will do battle against Fatima.
The finals for all three categories are also billed for this evening at the same venue.