Representing the country abroad may not be new to them but taking part in a Super League, may be overwhelming and an opportunity one must not miss.
PNG Pepes Goal Shooter, Jeperth Tulapi, Mid–Court Shanah Dringo and Goal Defender, Kilala Owen, will have a chance to play among some of the best international netballers, in March when they attend the Singapore Netball Super League.
An annual prestigious competition where international players from all around the world are invited to participate.
Meet 19-year-old Pepes Goal Shooter, Jeperth Tulapi, a young woman from Southern Highlands, Central and Gulf provinces, who is juggling secondary education and netball.
Since her debut for the national side in Singapore four years ago, Tulapi who has played netball since the age of 7 has come a long way.
With a number of international appearances behind her, including the 2015 Pacific Games, Tulapi now looks at the prospect of playing in the Singapore Netball Super League.
Another Singapore-bound Pepe is Central lass, Shanah Dringo, who has been playing netball for as long as she can remember.
With the influence of relative and former Pepes, Renagi Mulina, 23-year-old Dringo plays mid-court for the national side.
With netball being popular in her family as well as her community, Shanah naturally followed suit.
Her first international appearance came in 2013 when she attended the U21 World Youth Championship in Scotland at the age of 19. Upon returning, she was scouted for the PNG Pepes. Since then, it’s all Netball training and work for her.
Veteran Netballer and Goal Defender, Kilala Owen, is a 35-year-old mother, who has spent almost two decades of her life with the Pepes.
Though it gets challenging at times, this is one Pepe who never gives up.
Since starting in 1999, her first international exposure was the South Pacific Games Guam, which fell on the same year. And since then it has been a whirlwind of one international after another. The most memorable one for this East New Britain lass was the 2015 Pacific Games, as it was the first international game she has played on home soil.
