Labasa ready to defend B.O.G title

Defending Extra Battle of the Giants champion Labasa is keeping a low profile as the tournament gets underway at Govind Park in Ba, today.

Dubbed the Babasiga Lions, they have acquired the services of Solomon Islands Futsal coach Jerry Sam as their technical advisor, with the aim to retain the B.O.G title.

Labasa head coach, Alvin Chand, said they understand that defending B.O.G title away from home would be a massive challenge, however, it is not an impossible on.

“Football is always about pressure and with added pressure will drive us to strive for quality performance," he said.

The Lions are in Group A with Nasinu, Suva and Navua.

Chand said they are looking for revenge after Ba had beaten them in the Fiji FACT semi-final and the Extra Premier League decider in front of their fans at Subrail Park.

"We want to make amends on these disheartening losses."

Chand said they have not won a title in Ba for a long time and this would motivate his players to break this hoodoo.

"The motivation is to win the title in Ba where we haven't won it for a long time".

Chand said their training sessions focused around their pool opponents and they would treat each game as a final.

"We will play Nasinu first and this season they have given us a tough ride, we drew with them at home so we have to start quickly and score quick goals," he said.

Chand labelled Navua as a tournament giant and one capable of beating any team on their day, even to win the title.

While the Capital City boys are the 'dark horse' of the tournament and I believe under coach, Pita Rabo, Suva would come prepared to cause upsets.

"We have beaten Suva since last season, so we need to win against them and remain undefeated in pool play."

He said the inclusion of Sam would help address this issue.

"With his technical mindset, Sam, will provide us insights on how to attack our opponents and maximise goalscoring opportunities," Chand added.

WHAT’S ON TODAY

1pm Suva v Navua,

3pm Labasa v Nasinu,

5pm Rewa v Lautoka,

7pm Official opening,

7.30pm Ba v Nadi